Splatoon - Reunion
by TheStoriesCentral
Summary: Three days later after Kthulhu pulls himself away from Turf Warring after the Duel, and returned by the third day, he starts to meet new and friendly faces, all while he tries to cope with the guilt and sadness he felt after a tragedy, and to reconcile with the family he was forced to leave behind. As Kthulhu goes through a rollercoaster of emotions, secrets may unfold.
1. Siblings

**_Author's Note -_** _Before you read this, make sure you have read the previous story, **Splatoon - Duel**. Enjoy! :D_

* * *

 **(x)(X)(x)**

* * *

 _ **Reunion**_

* * *

 **(x)(X)(x)**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_ _– Siblings_

* * *

Days have passed since the Duel between Kthulhu and Yudius, now with him finally have gone out of the picture, there will be no more newcomers and newbies to be harmed anymore by them. It has been peaceful ever since then, even if the Duel got trending in SplatNet, and is quickly spreading through said net.

Kthulhu, by the next day, he has completely calmed himself down. Having friends sure helped him out in his first few days in Inkopolis. He told them yesterday that he will stop Turf Warring temporarily to get some rest, in which his friends understood.

But the real reason he wants to rest and get away from turf wars for a while is because lately, he is beginning to think about his sister, Kyla. He now has higher chances of seeing her again, but his other half is telling him that he is not ready, as he was particularly anxious when Sheldon is talking about her.

During those days of his hiatus, he is working on Ammo Knights with Zrix. They usually just tinker weapons and test them in the shooting range just to see what it does. But when Sheldon is away to take care some other business, they usually guard the shop.

Kthulhu, when he has some free time, he usually goes out for a walk around the Square as he goes from shop to shop excluding Ammo Knights, buying gear and stuff, and surprisingly with 25% discount for the next two days. He thought it was unnecessary but he thanked them anyway.

Whenever he goes out of the shop, he usually meets up with either Anthur and/or Leila at Cephalon Haven, Raei at the Inkopolis Tower, or Yeran with/without Verique and vice versa outside the studio with the Squid Sisters. Whenever he meets the said squids in the said places, he usually hangs out with and talks with them, but will always reject their offer to play Turf Wars in a reluctant manner.

* * *

 _ **Until the next day…**_

* * *

 _Welp, I think it's time to make a return…_

Kthulhu right now is sitting on his bed, looking at his glowing amulet. He was remembering his days during his training years with Kyro, his father. Without thinking about his fate, it was fun times, and also kind of brutal at most times; fifty-push ups, thirty sit-ups, five minute hand-stands, and many more. The fun times; learning tricks, practicing the roller, video games, dancing, and lots of more stuff he used to do with him.

He thought that moping around the basement of the shop wouldn't help him recover, nor just hanging out with his friends and play turf wars would help neither. It's been days since his hiatus, and now he thinks it's the time to get back to action once again.

It is 7:59 in the morning, and he just finished cleaning up his bed. The bright sun is shining through the small window of the basement. After a few minutes of staring at his amulet, he stood up from his bed, and walks his way to the wardrobe. He immediately grabbed his Red-Check Shirt and folded its sleeves until it reaches below her elbow. He has to save his other clothes for some other occasion. After that, he wore his glowing amulet for the first time in a while, as he is now completely comfortable on wearing it in public, because of Ryoko, the 1st Elite in the League's Elite Fighters, is also wearing one. He also grabbed his big strap bracelet and his watch hanging behind the wardrobe door and wears it in his left hand.

On the hat stand there hangs the same hat he wore yesterday, and the third hat he ever bought from the shop, Cooler Heads. He still doesn't feel bad pounding that deliciously salty fish to the ground. He grabbed it from the stand and wears it.

For the shoes, he bought a new pair of shoes in the Shrimp Kicks; The Red Work Boots, and thank freakin' cod they gave him a discount to make it more affordable. Even with the money he got from the HQ, which he reluctantly accepts, he needs to save up money to pay for more damaged clocks, and probably more medical fees for the fish in Cooler Heads.

He then walks his way to the weapons cabinet, and opened it, showing all of the weapons he has bought in the Ammo Knights. What, you thought Sheldon would give him free weapons or with a discount because he is the son of Kyro, a good, good friend of Sheldon's grandfather? No, Sheldon is rather strict in his shop rules.

Anyway, he opened the wardrobe that stored the weapons he got from the Ammo Knights; The Splattershot Jr., the Splattershot, the Blaster, the Splat Roller, the Carbon Roller Deco, as well as the vanilla Carbon Roller that he have bought recently the next day after the Duel, and also his own Tinkered Dynamo Roller. Too bad he can't use this anymore in his future battles, unless the Officials are generous and kind enough to let them use modified weapons in Turf War Battling, he would use the Roller again.

He looked at all the weapons that are shown in the wardrobe, thinking about what to use in his return to Turf Wars. A few second later, he stared at the Carbon Roller. It's not as splat-oriented as the vanilla Splat Roller, but two days ago, he puts a big handle in the thing that holds the roller together that is near the roller hilt when folded, big enough for his right hand to reach, and whenever he holds it while holding the Carbon Roller, the roller will stay the way when not being used to roll ink in the ground, making it look like he's holding a giant longsword.

He has been testing it out during his hiatus in the testing area with the help of Zrix. Since that the Carbon Roller is the lightest type of all the rollers, he has been holding it with one hand ever since he puts the handle on the roller, all while holding the said handle, making the feel of holding a sword. He can fling ink at a much longer range; he can create arcs of ink whenever he horizontally swipes the roller, and can still splat enemies in one flick.

Now, he thinks it is time to use it for the first time in his return.

For those who are wondering if this considered tampering with the weapon, no, it's not tampering, because he just put a handle in there; there are no other modification made in the roller.

He then grabbed the Carbon Roller from the wardrobe. The lightness of the roller is still there, and he grabbed it with only his right hand. _It's time to test it for real._

He then makes his way up the stairs that is leading to the dining room of the Ammo Knights, since Sheldon practically live in the shop. There's no one in there except for him. Sheldon is in now main area, introducing and selling weapons for other battlers in the city. With no one in the dining area, he grabbed an empty chair and sits on it, laying his Carbon Roller in the table. He takes out his phone from his pocket of his cycling shorts, and goes to the Masquidteers group chat; everybody in the group chat is online, excluding him and Marie.

* * *

 _ **NerdyFashionista:**_

 _i'm here outside the tower_

 _waiting for u 2_

 _ **GeekyCamperSniper:**_

 _wait!_

 _I'm still getting dressed up D:_

 _dont play turf yet_

 _ **DrDraei:**_

 _I'm on my way there_

 _Though I'm still far away from the Tower,_

 _I'm using the train to get there._

 _ **NerdyFashionista:**_

 _bruh, u guys better hurry up_

 _i'm a few wins away from ranking up_

 _ **DrDraei:**_

 _patience, nerd,_

 _this train will be there soon_

 _ **NerdyFashionista:**_

 _yeah, but what about yeran?_

 _she's always late_

 _oh never mind there she is_

 _i guess you're the only 1 left_

 _ **DrDraei:**_

 _yeah, yeah, whatevs_

 _the train has stopped here already_

 _ **NerdyFashionista:**_

 _I see it,_

 _well that made waiting easy…_

 _alright, hurry up, I'll be waiting…_

* * *

It looks like they are on the Tower already about to play Turf Wars. This may be a perfect opportunity to let them know that he is about to make an epic return. He planned to go in Solo, but he has a team now, and it would be bad if he left them eating the dirt in the lower ranks.

With that, he typed his message, as he stands up from his chair, and grabbed the Carbon Roller from the table. He makes his way out of the dining, while sending the message he typed in the chat.

* * *

 _ **CoolThulhu:**_

 _You guys in the Tower, eh?_

 _Wait for me there._

 _I'm coming back to action._

* * *

And there, he exited the Ammo Knights, making his way to his team in the Inkopolis Tower for his grand return.

* * *

He arrived to the Inkopolis Tower, meeting up with the rest of the Masquidteers outside the lobby.

Yeran is still wearing the CoroCoro Hoodie, but she now wears Yellow Seahorses and Bobble Hat. She is carrying the same charger, but with the scope. Verique still wears the same gear, but he now carries a Dual Squelcher. And then the new member, Raei, still wears the School Jersey, but this time, he wears FishFry Visor, and Red Hi-Tops. He still carries a Golden Dynamo Roller, but it looked like it is not the same weapon he used against Kthulhu during the Duel.

Yeran is the first one to notice Kthulhu walking towards their direction, and she immediately excitedly beamed, as she quickly runs to Kthulhu and tackled him with a hug by the waist, "Kthulhu! Welcome back!"

Kthulhu's lips formed a small smile, as he returns the hug. They immediately let go of each other as Raei and Verique approaches them.

"It's good to be back," Kthulhu said. Nothing is good than going back to the action of Turf Warring after a hellish Duel with a certain squid.

"Look who's finally here," Verique said, "Glad you are still alright."

"Geez, you two make it sound like it will take years for him to recover," Raei said jokingly.

"Well, it has been three days since he started turf war with me and Verique so..." Yeran let out a sigh of relief, "It feels like a long time, y'know."

"Heh, I can relate..." Raei then walks to Kthulhu, with his hands extended forward to him, offering a handshake, "Anyways, it's been a while. I've been aching to see you battle with me as teammates this time."

"Ditto," He then accepts his offer, and they did the handshake they have been practicing yesterday, that is kinda awkward and hard to describe. Let's just say the handshake is like best friends doing their secret handshake. This handshake ended in both squids' chests bumping into each other.

"Nice, minha mano! You're getting the hang of it." Raei patted Kthulhu's left shoulder in excitement and satisfaction.

"Heh, we look dumb," Kthulhu remarked with a small wry smirk.

"In the best way possible, bruh."

"True."

At a distance, Yeran and Verique stared at the two squids, dumbfounded. They can both agree that the two share a very strange friendship, which is kinda good for the newly-formed team that is about storm into the ranks and blow everyone away with the power of friendship.

"Well that was fast…" Yeran said, very impressed, "They became enemies for three minutes and a few days later, they act like best friends. I wish I had friendships with that quick of a pacing…"

"Hey, you have me," Verique stated, "Aren't we already best friends since we started Turf Warring?"

"Maybe you mean we became one after you stopped flirting with me not too long ago."

"Low blow 'zere, Yeran…"

"Don't worry about it, though. I appreciate that you have considered me as your best friend, even if I had rejected you're advances."

"I gotta learn somehow, since you're a-" He was interrupted by Yeran lightly slapping him in the face.

"I know what you are about to say, Verique, and I recommend that you should cease whatever you are trying to say to me…"

The two friends then heard someone clap twice, and they immediately glanced at the source of the sound. By the looks of Kthulhu's hands clasped into each other, he is the one who clapped, "How about we play Ranked Turf? I think it's time for the Team Masquidteers to make their debut in the Ranks."

"Heh, as well as your first ever Ranked Match, and as well to celebrate your return, you takoyaki!" Yeran added playfully. Yep, that would do, too.

Verique nodded, "I agree. 'ze match is about to start, so we need to get to ze lobby, schnell!"

And there the Masquidteers runs to the lobby, just in time for the team's first ever Ranked Match to start.

* * *

 **(x)(X)(x)**

* * *

 _ **Location: Suburbs of Inkopolis, Block #24, near the Inkopolitan Train Station...**_

 _ **Time: March 18**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 2014, 9:43AM...**_

* * *

It's good to be back in the suburbs from a week-long and refreshing vacation…

An Inkling with wavy dark blue tentacle hair that reaches above her shoulders came out of the Inkopolis Train that she rode from Lapunia to the Suburbs, along with two other Inklings behind her, in which are her cousins. She wore Fake Contacts, even when her eyes are sealed shut though she opens her eyelids sometimes, Vintage Check Shirt, long cycling shorts, and Squid-Stitch Slip-ons. They are carrying their bags that they carried during their stay at Lapunia.

"Home sweet home, cousin," Tarã, the squid with the long blue tentacle hair with purple tips said, "It's been a long week, and we can finally return to turf warring!"

"Heh, you could say," She agreed. Nothing is greater than a good turf war return, although she wants to rest for the day, because she has been experiencing headaches ever since she is travelling back to Inkopolis. She has been experiencing it ever since he got to Inkopolis a few months back, but it got a little worse as time goes on.

"Let's go then," Serõ, the inkling boy with spikey orange tentacle hair with green tips that are tied up offered, "A turf war would be good after this."

"Yeah, and let's see what has happened while we our gone," Tarã agreed, "I wanna see how my team is doing."

"Then I guess I'll see you two later?" The wavy tentacle haired inkling girl asked. She arranged her bag that is hanging behind her.

"Yeah, I guess so, Kyla," Tarã replied. She fixed her tentacle hair in a sofishticated way possible, "An hour of turf wars with my squad would be refreshing."

"Alright, see you to around, I'll be crashing back to my house," Kyla waved goodbye before she part ways with her cousins, as she walks back to her house.

As she travels back, a feeling washed inside her; something that is not unfamiliar to her. It is something that she is awfully familiar with: _loneliness_ and _nostalgia_. It is a feeling that she is so accustomed for at least two years now.

She then remembered something; a memory... A memory back in her hometown in Lapunia. _She remembered walking with a young Inkling that has red tentacle hair. It's her brother…_

" _Big bro," called the young Kyla to her brother while they are walking back to their homes, "Do you think we'll ever go to Inkopolis, someday?"_

 _Her brother looked at her with his closed eyes, and simply nodded with a smile on his face._

" _I too, hope that we will go to Inkopolis; make a lot of friends, play actual turf wars, have squads, and many fun things we could do there!"_

 _And she continues on rambling about it until they reached their house. It is one heck of a one-sided conversation, but Kyla clearly enjoyed it._

" _Here we are; home," Kyla said, then looks at her brother, with her hopeful expression plastered on her face , "Hey big bro, could you promise me one thing?"_

" _Hmm?" Her brother arched an eyebrow, curious._

" _Promise me we would go to Inkopolis together."_

 _Both his eyebrows raised. He didn't expect a promise that big, well at least for him._

" _Why so surprised, big bro?" Asked Kyla, "Not just_ _ **go**_ _together, I wanted you to be with me when we play Turf Wars. I prefer to play with you more than anyone else, as I don't really like to play with strangers for the first time."_

 _Her brother's head looked down, his hand covering his chin, thinking. He is not the kind of squid that can keep promises, but he thinks that this is just a simple promise, since they will soon go to Inkopolis to start their career as Turf War Players, start a squad or a solo record._

 _He made up his mind. He looked up at Kyla, and saw childish hope in her eyes, that not even he can't resist._

" _I promise, Kyla. When I hit fourteen we will be going to Inkopolis-" He didn't have the chance to even finish his sentence when Kyla suddenly lunges forward to him to give him hugs._

" _Thank you, big bro, I will remember that promise."_

 _Her brother smiled as he wraps his arms around his sister. A promise has been made by the two siblings..._

 _...in which the brother wasn't really able to keep for long..._

Before she even finished reminiscing she has arrived at her house. She looked at her house that she got when she arrived in Inkopolis for the first time; it was just an ordinary house with polished stone walls that stands seven feet tall, enough to keep trespassers away, a grey metal gate that leads to her house. Her house is about the same size as any other houses in the suburbs, with blue-ish purple roof and light grey walls. It is one of the only houses that her mother could afford for her in a moderate price, with everything she needed is inside it.

She opens the gate to her house. Behind the walls are fresh and beautiful flowers that are planted across her garden. There is also a hose that is connected on the faucet that is below the window of her room. She's been watering those plants daily ever since she got here, and she happy to see them bloom.

She then entered the house. Inside there is the living room, with a couch set that is facing towards her TV, which is a flat screen TV. In front of her, there is the dining area, where she usually eats with her cousins and/or with friends, so that she won't feel isolated.

She puts her bag full of things she brings during her trip to Lapunia at the couch, and she immediately sits the couch beside it, her head facing the ceiling. Whenever she is like this, she usually go into deep thought, as she listens to music on her headphones, thinking about scenarios that would likely fit the song she is listening.

Or usually, while she is in deep thought, she always reminisces the old days, and her missing brother and father. And whenever she does, she is having mixed feelings, and always asks herself in her mind; _Where are you now, big brother? I've been praying so many times that you would come back to me. Where have you gone to with our father?_

And whenever she thinks about it, she always tears up. She can't get over this loneliness and sadness she is feeling for years, nor does she have any plans to. This feeling of loneliness is the only thing that will make her remember her other missing family. She then lies herself in the couch, her right arm is on top of her forehead, and her left hand is on the back of her head.

 _What happened to the promise you said you would? How could you... How could disappear in such a wrong time...?_

And at that point, she started to silently let her tears run down from her eyes, emotions taking over for a hundredth time, as she fell asleep in her couch.

* * *

 **_Author's Note_** _: Welcome everybody, to the sequel of **Splatoon - Duel**! This sequel might be much longer than the Duel, since this will tell Kthulhu's attempts on coping with his terrible past, and overcome the fear of meeting his family that he was forced to leave behind because of... wait, what **was** the reason why Kyro, the father of Kthulhu, has to take him away? Maybe we will know in this story! _... ** _maybe_**...

 _And as you can (maybe) see, there is no cover image for the story yet. It is because I am still working on it, and I have plans to upload it on my Splatoon Art Blog in Tumblr, **The Cthulhian Work's Office**. By the next chapter is uploaded, the thumbnail art will be updated as well._

 _I will try to make chapters as often as possible. I'll see you all later in the next chapter! Stay Fresh!_

 **Development will be made in –** _After Upload_

 **Chapter will be uploaded in** – _Between Middle and Late of April._


	2. The Masquidteers' First Ranked Match

_**A/N –**_ _Well this chapter took long than necessary. (blame that to my laziness, and as well as the time I took to make the cover)_

 _After this I will never ever gonna write the next few half of the match, because that would take me much longer than it needs to be. I also have to make some changes, mostly the dates, as well at this story and at the previous story,_ _ **The Duel**_ , _because I was supposed to make the first match to take place in Monday, which is March 17, 2014._

 _So, thanks for your patience, and now, I introduce you the 2_ _nd_ _Chapter of_ _ **Splatoon – Reunion**_ , _**The Masquidteers' First Ranked Match**_ , _showing the first half of the Masquidteers' first match. This chapter is really packed with action with less dialogue, and it also shows the results of what Kthulhu's has been experimenting in his hiatus._

 _(also, I think I got the map wrong… again… and I'll keep it that way for now)_

 _Anyways, I won't keep you for long. I shall give you the second chapter of_ _ **Splatoon – Reunion**_ _, and I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_ – _The Masquidteers' First Ranked Match_

* * *

 _ **Location**_ _ **–**_ _Blackbelly Skatepark, Inkopolis_

 _ **Time**_ _ **–**_ _March 17_ _th_ _, 2014, 8:03AM_

* * *

"Alright, here we go, team!" Yeran excitedly yelled as soon as she and the other members of the Masquidteers have been teleported to their Green spawn point; Yeran teleported in the right side of their spawn point, Kthulhu in the left, Raei in the front, and Verique in the back, "Our first ever ranked match as the Masquidteers!"

The stage is Blueberry Skatepark, the same stage Kthulhu battled in his first match with Yeran and Verique. This stage already brings back memories of his first day of his career of Turf Warring, and it was pleasant to remember how he splatted Yeran for the first time in that match. Too bad he has no plans on using it on the future.

"And its Splat Zones," Verique added. Splat Zones are Verique and Yeran's favourite mode according to Raei in one of their conversations in the Masquidteers group chat, and also according to him that they are great at it, "It gets better with Splat Zones as our game mode for the first match."

"We are totally gonna win this, team!" Kthulhu admirred her optimism for the team's first ever ranked match together. The odds of winning got way higher because Yeran's high-spirited attitude today, which, like her smiles, is pretty infectious.

"It looks like we are off to a good start," Raei commented, as he prepares his Golden Dynamo Roller, "You're ready for our first match, K?"

"Born ready," Kthulhu answered with a determined smile.

"That's the spirit, K, we'll definitely gonna win this!" He then looks back at Verique, who is looking at his Squidphone that shows their opponents, "Who we're fighting for our first match, Verique?"

"A pretty well rounded team," Verique said as he scans their opponents, "Nothing out of ze ordinary, its just an E-Liter, an Inkbrusher, a 52. Gal, and a Mini Spatling."

"Sounds familiar," Raei lets his lips form a devious smirk, as if he knows their opponents, "...way too familiar..."

"Yep, you're _**Raei**_ ght... It's 'zhem..." Verique shakes his head. Kthulhu can't tell if he is disappointed or amused of either about what he discovered, or maybe about the bad pun that he just made with Raei's name. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it by the slightest.

"What do you guys mean?" Yeran asked as an eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"We'll be battling my friends," Raei answered, "Or in this case, _our_ friends, right, nerdy boy?"

"Yep."

Yeran's eyes widened, surprised, "You're other friends? Who are they?" She asked excitedly, never would've thought that the fact the Masquidteers will have to battle Raei and Verique's other friends in their first Ranked match.

"You'll see soon," Verique then looks at Kthulhu and winks as he puts he puts his Squidphone back to his pocket. Oh, he knows what he means. This made Yeran frown, not because of Verique winking at Kthulhu, but he answered in a very vague and unsettling manner.

With that note, he readies his Carbon Roller, and also inspects the handle that he puts on his roller. It is still super glued (not literally) to the roller, and it's in perfect condition.

Raei notices this, as he peeks on Kthulhu's weapon, and he can't help asking, "What's with that on your roller?"

"It's a handle." He flatly answered.

Raei stared at Kthulhu with a deadpanned expression on his face, completely unamused, " _Very funny_. I mean, what's with that handle on your roller?" He clarified.

"You'll see soon, Raei," Kthulhu vaguely answers him. Raei furrowed his eyebrows in slight annoyance, but before he can say another word, the automated speakers spoke, "Attention, Battlers! The Ranked Match is about to start! Ready yourselves in a few seconds!"

"Looks like it's time," Verique said, as he prepares his Dual Squelchers for action, "'Ze first match of 'ze Masquidteers is about to start! Let's give it our all, but before we start, put your fists together and shout Booyah if you all are ready!"

"Booyah!" Yeran, Verique, and Raei yelled unison as they bump their fists into each other. Kthulhu didn't need to shout it to know that he is ready, as he smiled as he observed the strong team chemistry that the newly-formed team had. After that, all of the members looked at Kthulhu, expressing their confidence to their leader.

"So, anything to say before we start, Captain K?" Yeran asked, eager to hear what Kthulhu has to say. All of the members looked at him expectantly, waiting for their captain to say anything before the match starts that would boost up their confidence.

Luckily, he already knows what to say, as he opens his mouth to speak the words that have made them ten times confident, "I'm not a squid of words, but like Verique said, let's give it our all...

"And let's win this, and make _**mine**_ and our _**team's**_ first ranked match, as well as my _**return**_ -" He then bumps his fists with the others, "-worthy of the _**Masquidteers**_!"

"BOOYAH!" The three other Masquidteer members shouted in unison, as they, along with Kthulhu, throw their fists into the air, ready for everything the opponent that will be thrown at them. It is not much, but since he has inspired his teammates, he felt good about it.

"Five seconds remaining..." Said the automated speaker beside their spawn point, making the Masquidteers get back to their position and ready themselves for battle.

"Time for battle..." Raei muttered to himself, as he readies his roller in battle stance.

3...

 _2..._

 _ **1...**_

 _ **GO**_ _ **!**_

"Vamonos, Masquidteers!" Raei said as he started to fling ink on the right side of his spawn point, Kthulhu also flinging ink to his left in unison with Raei, as Verique quickly sprinted off to the right while he inks the ground with his Dual Squelchers, and Yeran excitedly runs off to the left while making ink paths from her charger. With that, Kthulhu and Raei started rolling their perspective rollers to ink most of the ground that are left in their area, whilst going to the center to battle their opponents.

 _And so, the first Ranked Match of the Masquidteers has begun..._

* * *

A few seconds in, they have inked their first zone, and shet got immediately crazy as soon as Kthulhu and Raei reached the center.

After they have inked their area that is near the spawn, they proceed to ink their way to the center to ink the first zone and holy squid, they got immediately barraged rapidly by raining ink from the opponents Splatling that is standing at the tower in the middle. He wears a Alolan Shirt that has longer sleeves, Octo Glasses with transparent lenses, and Shark Moccasins. He has Pink tentacle hair with Cyan tips, but his tentacle hair is not like other male Inklings that are tied up in knots; his tentacle hair is like Eica, comb over to the left, albeit his is shorter and is comb over to the right instead of left, while his tentacle hair in the back is similarly tied like Marie's, just not like a ribbon, but it is tied up like a knot. His Octo Glasses lenses are shining, and he grins excitedly as he is about to splat both Kthulhu and Raei.

Both Kthulhu and Raei backed off to their inked area, and looked at the Splatling Inkling that is atop of the p but not without getting hit by off the ink that fired from the Splatling.

"Ha, ha, looks like you can still dodge some of my shots, Raei!" The opposing Inkling with the Splatling shouted at them, impressed, "It is to be expected from you, after all, and I also never expected that you and Kthulhu to be our opponent."

Raei flashed out a smirk in his lips, "Yeah, didn't expect you to be our opponent either, Zayd…" _Zayd?_ He seems to know the Splatling Inkling, "Good luck winning against us, you'll gonna need it…" He flings ink from his roller horizontally in the enemy ink that is mixed in theirs, and his hair suddenly lit up with bubbles. His Special is up, and he immediately takes out his Inkstrike (the normal kind this time) and fired it at the tower that Zayd's currently standing on.

"Heh, you'll gonna also need it," Zayd said as turns into a squid and he jumps off the tower he is standing on as soon as Raei's Inkstrike is about to drop, avoiding the explosion. While he drops down, he began charging his Splatling, and as soon as he landed on the ground, he resurfaces and started to fire his Splatling.

The two squids immediately splits up; Raei to the _**raei**_ ght (sorry not sorry), and Kthulhu to the left, to avoid fire from the Splatling. He then focus fired on Raei first, giving Kthulhu the opportunity to close the distance, but as soon as he got close though, he puts down a Suction bomb by the ramp beside Kthulhu. He then swims backwards to avoid the explosion from the bomb, and throws a Burst Bomb as soon as he resurfaced. The Splatling Inkling dodged it by swimming through the ink that he created when he fired a barrage of ink shots onto the Kthulhu and Raei.

He is now vulnerable to be splatted in two sides. Kthulhu immediately took this opportunity as he folds his roller, firmly holds the hilt of the roller with his right hand, grabbed and holds the handle that he put in the roller, and prepares a vertical swing as he lunged at Zayd, ready to splat him, as well as Raei about to about to fling ink at Zayd. But as Zayd resurfaced, his hair is flowing with bubbles, indicating that his Special is ready to be deployed. As soon as he resurfaced, he suddenly pulled out an Inkzooka out of nowhere, aiming at Raei. As fast he pulls it out, he fired the Inkzooka while he is still midair, expelling swirling tornado at Raei that splatted him instantly.

He begins to turn around and fire the Inkzooka at Kthulhu, but as soon as he turns around to face him, Green ink hits him by the shoulder, staggering him backwards, and fired the Inkzooka at the wrong direction, missing his shot. Kthulhu then pulled out a burst bomb, and he slaps Zayd with it in the face, balance completely vanished as he stumbles backwards. Kthulhu then swipes his roller horizontally like a sword at Zayd's left hip, splatting him.

 _Welp, that didn't ended well for Raei…_ Kthulhu thought as he stands started to ink the left side of the centre of the stage. He is halfway through doing so, until he saw pink ink flying everywhere from one of the passages in their side of the stage, as well as green ink. In the same passage emerged Verique who is swimming away, and another Inkling girl came out front flipping out of the passage, an Inkling Girl that is way too familiar, maybe the same Inkling girl that Verique is talking about earlier. She wears Camo Zip Hoodie that didn't help hiding her big chest, wears cycling shorts that are seemingly skin-tight, showing those sexily slender legs, and Crazy Arrows. She wears no headgear, assuming that she wears Fake Contacts. She has light green eyes, and pink comb over tentacle hair with gold tips.

He immediately recognizes her, and there's no mistaking it; she's _**Eicarin 'Chelfinn**_ , a skilled Seinen Inkling girl and the same Inkling girl he battled against during the preparations for the Duel, and the same Inkling girl Yeran got infatuated to the first time she sets her eyes on her. Hoo boy, the first Ranked Match of Kthulhu and the Masquidteers, as well as his return match is getting a lot more interesting than he thought it would be.

As Verique backs off of her 52. Gal's Range, he points his Dual Squelchers, but he didn't fire ink as he saw her excitedly wave her free arm at Kthulhu and shouted a greeting, "Bonjour, Kthulhu!" He then glances at his back to see Kthulhu, and also waved at him briefly, and briefly points at Eica with his thumb while he winks, mischievously grinning. Kthulhu nodded, as if he understands what he meant, as the two Inkling boys brought their gaze back at Eica, "It's good to see you in the splattlefield again, Kthulhu!"

Kthulhu waves at her with his two fingers, before going back to reality and started to battle against each other, as Kthulhu rolls his way to Verique and Eica.

Eica then points her 52. Gal directly at Verique, and fired burst rounds of ink at him. He dodged most of them while he tries to get near her, but he got hit by the two times in the right thigh, stopping his from moving another step to her for a second. She did not waste any more time to shoot him with burst rounds of ink of her 52. Gal, splatting him. Kthulhu came into range a little late, and swings his roller vertically at Eica, shooting a line of ink at her. She dodged it by doing a 360 degree side spin to her left with grace as she proceeds to fire burst round of ink at Kthulhu.

He instinctively backed off from the range of her weapon, and proceeds to jump and vertically swing his roller at Eica, flinging another straight line of ink at Eica. As expected, she dodged it with the same technique she did to dodge his initial swing, and this time, Kthulhu came prepared. After he swung his roller, he let go of the roller with his left hand, and takes out a Burst Bomb like he unsheathes his sword upwards preparing for battle, and swings it at her.

But the bomb didn't hit her, as she surprisingly dodged it by leaning her body slightly backwards.

But he is not done yet with his attack, as he continues to raise the burst bomb into the air, and precedes to slams it into the ground. Again she dodged it, but this time, in the last second, she jumped and did a gymnastic flip over him, using his back as a support. She is so light that Kthulhu didn't even flinch.

He then looked at his back, just to see her inking the zone that he gained the last few seconds. He immediately gained some of them by flinging a straight line at Eica, as he chases after, while attempting to retake the zone that she is about to take. But before he can even do anything, she puts a Splash Wall in front of him, blocking him. She then fires a burst round of ink at the corner of the zone, taking it.

 _ **They took Control!**_

"Ha hah, nice try, Kthulhu, but you have to try harder than that-"

 _SPLAT!_

He just heard what seems to be an unintentionally sexual grunt behind the Splash Wall, as he witnesses Eica get splatted by a random black squid came out of nowhere with the Golden Dynamo Roller in back, whilst retaking back his team's zone with a splat bomb. Well that sentence got sexual real quick…

 _ **They lost Control!**_

"Surprise, mothersquirter," Raei said as soon as he splatted Eica. You don't hear that every day when a sexy inkling girl got surprise splatted so hard by a Golden Dynamo Roller while inking back their splat zones if you know what I mean. _*wink wink_

"What an _**ink**_ trance, Raei," Kthulhu remarked, "You're on a roll with those sneak attacks."

"Thanks, I've been practicing. Now let's go, get the other zone!" He said as he motioned Kthulhu to roll their way to the other zone that is under the opponent team's control. Kthulhu then vertically flings ink to the tower, and he climbs to top of the tower to get a better view of the battlefield. Zayd is swimming his way to the center, while Eica's squid ghost is going into their spawn point.

A black-skinned Inkbrusher that kinda looked like Raei for some reason is about to slide his way to the zone, wearing Two-Stripe Mesh, Green Cardigan, and Zombie Hi-Horses. He uses the vanilla Inkbrusher, using it to slide his way to the zone to ink his team ink that is left in the zone.

The Pink Team is on the lead, their timer has gone down to 89 already in the first minute, while the Masquidteers has about 96. He needs to be tactical in taking the other zone, as he folds his Carbon Roller and grabs the handle again, while letting his left hand go off the roller hilt, holding his Carbon Roller like a sword again, ready to take over the enemy zone.

This is the perfect opportunity to ambush the Inkbrusher and take the zone from the opponent team. He was about to jump off the tower and about to splat the Inkbrusher…

…until he saw something shined in the corner of his closed eyes, in which he immediately recognizes an incoming charger shot…

As fast as he could, he lifts his roller at the line of fire of the charger and he successfully blocked it. He then looked at the direction where the charger shot came from, and he saw an Inkling boy with Dark Emerald Green, half-closed Monolid Eyes that is usually seen with Southeastern Inklings, prominently from the country, _**Yangtze**_ , and with tied up pink tentacle hair with Dark Jade Green tips, standing on a yellow grate platform. He wears Paisley Bandana, Anchor Sweat, and Plum Casuals. His tentacle is a little longer than most of the Inklings he saw in the Plaza, and wears a bored expression in his face. He looked much more skinnier compared to other Inklings, and he always wonders how he can carry such a heavy weapon without much difficulty.

There's no mistaking it either; he is also one of the Inklings that he battled against during his match with Eica, as he is one of the skilled players in the said match. Now he had to be cautious of him this time, as his accuracy is always is at deadly eagle level.

The sniper is about to charge his E-Liter at Kthulhu, until he was interrupted by a random splat bomb that is thrown at the grate. He instinctively turned into a squid and swam through the ink in the wall and withdraws from the Splat Bomb. He then saw another splat bomb that landed on the outline of the zone.

 _Bomb Rush…_ Yeran's Special is on the house. Now this is the perfect time to drop down, splat the Inkbrusher , and take the zone. He turned into his squid form and jumped off of the tower. He saw the Inkbrusher fighting off Green Ink that is taking his team's zone that is coming from Yeran's Splat Bombs. Fortunately for Kthulhu, he is just about the right place, near the spot where he will land.

Kthulhu then turned back to his Inkling form mid-air, his roller ready to swing down vertically at the Inkbrusher, as he rotates himself to face his direction at the Inkbrusher. He was about to make a perfect sneak attack, but his big shadow gave his position away, and the Inkbrusher looked up. _Screw you, you freakin' ball of fire in the sky…_

The Inkbrusher then hops backwards as soon as Kthulhu is about to land, and slams his roller onto the Inkbrusher's noggin, getting hit by some ink that flung off from the roller instead instead. A Splat Bomb later, they finally took the opponent zone.

 _ **We took Control!**_

He took out a Burst Bomb and throws it directly at the Inkbrusher. The Inkbrusher deflected it back to Kthulhu with his Inkbrush, his ink is almost depleted, and he then tried to swim away by sliding his way out of the area. Until he got halted by a Splat Bomb thrown at the direction he is going, forcing him to hop back to the same spot he is on before he attempted to flee.

With the Inkbrusher vulnerable to be splatted, he momentarily submerged in Green Ink to refill, and then resurfaced with a burst bomb at hand. As soon as he resurfaced, he immediately threw it at the Inkbrusher to pressure him on defending himself from the closest danger he saw. He successfully swatted it away to left, but was slightly damaged by the ink that flew off from the burst bomb as it hits the wall, making him flinch a little.

This is enough time to make Kthulhu move in for the splat with a horizontal swing. He dashes to the Inkbrusher. On cue, Raei came out from the left behind the Inkbrusher, who is ready to swing his roller horizontally to the right at the Inkbrusher. This way he will be vulnerable of getting splatted from all sides. Raei then dashed to the Inkbrusher, who also turned around to see Raei is about to splat him as well, knowing full well that he can't escape.

They immediately reached the distance, with both rollers ready to swing horizontally at the Inkbrusher, with Kthulhu swings it like a sword, and Raei swings it horizontally like normal. As soon as the Inkbrusher is in range of the rollers, with no escape and ink is almost depleted in his ink tank, he was immediately crushed by Kthulhu's Carbon Roller and Raei's Dynamo Roller, sandwiching him to oblivion and turning him into an ink puddle as the two rollers connected between him.

 _ **SPLATWICHED!**_

"WOOO! Yes, we did it!" Raei cheered. They have been practicing that technique between those two days of hiatus, and those two days of training has paid off well for the both Rollers, "Finally _splatwiched_ someone!"

They pulled out their rollers away from each other, and they high-fived for their success of the technique. The celebration was short lived though, as they heard a yelp behind Kthulhu; Yeran got splatted by the E-Liter Sniper inside the zone they have captured moments ago. He won't have any of that, as Kthulhu's hair is lit with bubbles, his Special, Inkzooka, ready. He decided that he should save it for later. He swims a bit closer to the sniper, and again as soon as he resurfaces, he pulls out a Burst Bomb and threw it beside the sniper.

The sniper was turning to face Kthulhu, and saw the Burst Bomb that is about him, making him instinctively swims away through the wall and away from the grate. He is soon quickly to get out of the bomb radius, and glances at the direction Kthulhu is, to see him already swam up to his location, with his Carbon Roller ready to splat him. Kthulhu swings his Carbon Roller vertically down to fling ink at the sniper at a long, straight line, successfully hitting him that makes him stagger backwards and stuns him. He then dashed forward to the sniper, and swings his horizontally like a sword at the sniper, hitting him in the hips and splatting him.

Successfully splatting the sniper, he then looked back Raei, who seems to be fighting Zayd again with difficulty, pushing Raei back, possibly back to the other zone, while Zayd is screaming, "That's _**raei**_ ght, run back to 'yer splat zone!" His battle crazy tone added up to the fear factor.

"Screw off with the puns, Zayd!" Raei yelled back, as he continues to get pushed back by Zayd, "I've already heard that a few minutes ago and already heard it a million times!" He was then continuously pushed back to the zone by Zayd's powerful barrages of ink with glee and with a crazy expression on his face, like a mad scientist that has become successful with a very recent experiment.

 _Well, better go and assist Raei…_

He swings down his roller vertically at the tower, inking a long line of ink path that almost reached the top of the tower, and throws a burst bomb at the tip of the ink path to complete the ink path to the top of the tower. He then turns into his squid form and swims way to the top of the tower.

The first thing he saw as he got up to the tower is Yeran swimming her way to the first zone of the Masquidteers. Verique is in the alley that is about to jump out and help Raei defending the zone. Glancing at the zone, Raei is struggling to keep his ground against the crazy Zayd firing off barrages of ink at him from his Mini Splatling. In the corner of his closed left eye, he saw an Inkling that is about to swim to zone, possibly Eica about to assist Zayd.

Raei is at a disadvantage right now. If he doesn't help, they'll splat him with ease and the Masquidteers would lose control, and the others may struggle retaking it back because Zayd is going ham with the Mini Splatling right now, and if Yeran came in and Eica is on her sights, she will be stiff as a statue for the whole game until she is out of sight, either girls got splatted, or Kthulhu slapping her right in the face if he ever get the chance. Teasing her will be after the round is over or maybe after defending the zone successfully.

His long tentacle hair is flowing bubbles right now, his Special, Inkzooka, ready to be deployed. He wasted no more time, as he puts his Carbon Roller on his back, and takes his Inkzooka somehow out of thin air. He then aims towards the Zayd, who is nearing the already struggling Raei.

He fired the first tornado shot at Zayd. The first tornado shot didn't hit the target, but it instead hits a splash wall, which was place by Eica, who is now beside Zayd. At the same time, Verique just arrived at the fight, and threw a Splat Bomb. Raei also threw one in unison with Verique. The Splat Bomb Raei threw hits the Splash Wall, which it instantly exploded beside Zayd. Eica is fast enough to pull him away from the Splash Wall before the Splat Bomb hits the Splash Wall, but without Zayd risking damage from the explosion.

The next danger for them is the other Splat Bomb that Verique just threw, which landed a few feet from them. Both then turned into their squid forms back to their ink of its radius in time as they are getting fired upon by Verique's Dual Squelcher, but there is another threat that they have to worry about; Kthulhu's Inkzooka and his rather deadly aim with it. Kthulhu then aims at the path they are swimming to and fires another tornado shot at them. This made the two split; Eica swims to the right and Zayd swam backwards. Zayd resurfaced, an Inkzooka in hand, aimed at Kthulhu, with his also aimed at Zayd.

In unison, both Inkzookas fired at the same time, both aimed at each other.

The two tornados pillars collided with each other and both pillars exploded on impact, scattering big chunks of ink of Green and Pink Ink on all directions, slightly damaging Zayd, Raei, Verique and Eica. Zayd recovered quickly and fired another tornado pillar at Kthulhu, but he dodged by jumping down from the tower and to the elevated structure that is beside the tower, and fired another shot at Zayd. He almost got hit again, as Eica manages to put another Splash Wall in front of Zayd to protect him as he submerged into his ink and regenerate.

Kthulhu then switched his target, and points his Inkzooka slightly above Eica's head and fired a shot, his tornado shot went over the Splash Wall and it is about to hit Eica. She notices quickly, she elegantly side flipped to the left, whilst trying to fire her weapon against the cautiously advancing Verique shooting ink over the Splash Wall. Damn, she really does know how to fight with those hips and flips as she dodges that tornado pillar with style.

As she landed gracefully, Zayd resurfaced, his Inkzooka ready, and it fired a tornado pillar at Verique. Verique barely dodged it, but he got hit by the edge of the ink tornado pillar, and he attempted to get out of his line of fire, until Zayd just dashed through Eica's Splash Wall, and suddenly fired another ink tornado pillar at Verique at point blank range with the same crazy expression he wore earlier, splatting Verique. Zayd's Inkzooka's ink tank has been depleted, as he threw it to the side.

As Kthulhu fired his last few shots at Eica who is just flipping back and forth, and forth and back, Raei goes in for the splat, as he raises his Dynamo roller for a horizontal swing. Zayd has his barrage ready, and he lets out a half-charged barrage at Raei, who also has swung his Golden Dynamo Roller down, flinging a powerful ink at Zayd that is enough to splat him in one-hit. He did splat him, but the barrage is fired much earlier than Raei's, splatting Raei as well, which made the two fighters splat themselves simultaneously.

Kthulhu has fired his final Inzooka shot, emptying the Inkzooka's ink tank, and Eica is now side flipping a few feet away from the spot where Zayd got splatted. As Eica landed, she then fired her weapon at Kthulhu, who now jumped down from the elevated structure and towards Eica. Before he landed, he turned into his Inkling form, his Carbon Roller folded at his right hand whilst holding the handle, ready to fling a straight ink. As soon as he landed, he swings down his Carbon Roller, flinging a straight, long line of ink towards Eica. Eica hopped back, out of the way of the line of ink that is flung towards her, whilst trying to splat him with her .52 Gal.

He dodged the burst shots by hopping to his right, and hopped again to the left, right right, and now back, and swings down his roller to fling another straight line of ink at Eica. As expected, she hopped to the left, but before her feet hits the ground, Kthulhu threw a Burst Bomb directly at Eica.

Eica, being one of the most Inkling Girls who has really astounding stamina, endurance, and reflexes he ever met in his career, quickly notices the Burst Bomb, and frantically hopped diagonally backwards to her left before the bomb hits her. He was about to fling ink at her as soon as she lands, but a powerful charged shot from a Charger directly hits her, immediately splatting her.

Kthulhu froze mid-windup for a few seconds. That was a perfectly timed shot came out of nowhere. He then glances behind him, and he saw Yeran standing above the edge of the elevated plateau structure by the zone. Her face is now painted in the color of a tomato, she is visibly shaking slightly, maybe in anxiety, her facial expression is mixed with surprised, nervousness, and kinda like the expression when you see your high school pass you by. She then notices Kthulhu staring at her funny, and her eyebrows furrowed together, probably anticipating for Kthulhu to tease her with sign language.

But what she gets instead is a thumbs-up from Kthulhu, and mouthing the word _nice_. Her eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. A second later, her lips formed a small smile, and mouthed the words _thanks_. Their friendship sure evolves quickly.

Another second passes; they heard an explosion that sounded like an explosion coming from an Inkstrike. Kthulhu and Yeran glance to the source of the sound, and they saw a giant explosion of Pink Ink that has been expelled into the sky.

 _ **We lost Control!**_

An Inkstrike has been launched onto the zone that they just captured earlier. Looks like the Inkbrusher has already respawned and he got enough points to get an Inkstrike to retake their zone back.

 _Well, ain't that a waste of Inkstrike…_

The two friends glanced back to each other. Both then nodded, knowing what to do, Kthulhu then proceeds to fling ink at the central tower to climb up to the top, while Yeran turned into her squid form and she saw through the ink that is left by her teammates to rendezvous with Kthulhu to the top.

The first match, or in this case, the first half of Kthulhu's first Ranked Match in his grand return, with the Masquidteers, and his first Ranked Match ever, has been… interesting to say the least. In the said match, they somehow matched up against Raei's friends; Eica Chelfinn', Zayd, the unnamed Inkbrusher and the unknown E-Liter Sniper, and they are also pretty skilled battlers.

What a way to start the day…

But the match is not over yet. This is just the first half of the match, and the battle is yet to be over. The opponent team are still fighting strong, and the Masquidteers are gonna do everything for them to win their first match. After all, _the battle has just began,_ and they are gonna make this match _**worthy of the**_ _ **Masquidteers**_ …

* * *

 _ **A/N –**_ _This is the end of the chapter! I hope you enjoy the action that I've been working on for weeks, which oddly took me long to write for some reason._

 _What really took this chapter so long is the damn cover page; I'm having problems with the colors, but I managed to do it in due time. :D For the full size of the image, you should check it out on my Tumblr,_ _ **Cthulhian Artist's Works Office** i, just search for #splatoon - reunion._

 _Also here is another Nationality that I used for this chapter:_

 _ **Yangtze**_ _– A country from the Southeast Region, and the biggest country of Earth. It is the Splatoon incarnation of_ _ **China**_ _, with the name is based off of the river of the same name. Natives, Citzens, and Language there is_ _ **Yangtzen**_ _, or_ _ **Yangtzese**_ _._

 _So anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one!_

* * *

 _ **.:Preview for the Next Chapter:.**_

* * *

"How about we continue the talk later, and we'll treat you guys food in Cephalon Haven, si?" Raei offered, "That match surely took a lot of us, am I right, K?"

"Yeah, sure," Kthulhu nodded, agreeing, "After all, a girl behind really wanted that date with Ei-"

He was interrupted by Yeran slapping him in the back of the head, "Shut up, you takoyaki! I had enough of your shite already!" She then turns to face Zayd's team, while Kthulhu rubs the back of his head. That was one mean slap, "Tá an-leithscéal orm, what he is about to say is not true-"

"Are you sure about 'zat?" Verique interrupted, mischievously grinning, with his thumb and index finger firmly presses on his chin; the word in sign language that would annoy her for eternity.

Yeran is fuming with anger and embarrassment, really flustered. Zayd is grinning with pride, and Eica is trying to hold off her chuckle from coming out of her mouth. She was about to punch the nerd right in the face, but Raei got in between them, trying to controlling his amusement right now.

"Alright, alright, enough with the banter," Raei said, attempting to calm down, "Now, let's get to the Cephalon Haven before shite escalates quickly."

* * *

 **Development starts – Tomorrow, March 28** **th** **, 2018**

 **Chapter will be uploaded in – Early May**


	3. Team Bonding

_**Chapter 3**_ _ **–**_ _Team Bonding_

" _ **One minute left!"**_ The automated speaker said as the match time is ticking down.

The centre has become a warzone of colors, with the opponent team goes all out offensive on the Masquidteers, making them struggle to defend their only zone that prevents the opponent team's timer to go down. The game is pretty close, as Green has 21 seconds left on their timer, while in the other team 25 seconds left on theirs. They can't afford to lose all of the control over the zones, or else this match will take like an eternity to finish when things get intense.

"K, hurry, we need to recapture 'ze zone!" Verique shouted as he swims up to an elevated structure, attempting to dodge E-Liter shots from the opponent sniper.

"I'm trying to, I'm busy-" Kthulhu, being held at bay by the Inkbrusher, jumps backwards while he flings ink in a vertical straight line with his Carbon Roller at the Inkbrusher, hitting him directly to the chest, stunning him for a brief moment and made him stumbling backwards, "-at the moment."

A moment later after he successfully lands a hit, Yeran, who is on top of the tower, fires a fully charged shot at the Inkbrusher, finishing him off, "Alright, you're free, now help out Raei! He's the taking the zone right now-" Before she can even finish, she was splatted by the E-liter Sniper from the opponent team.

"Go, now K! I'll hold off 'ze opponent from here!" Verique yelled as he goes back in his Inkling form, and activated his special, Echolocator, as black squid-like spirits swirl around him for a second, before going off to locate the opponent team, "Take out 'ze sniper first, he's on 'ze grate again, defending 'zeir zone 'vwith Zayd and Eica! Raei 'vwill take care of 'ze others by firing an Inkstrike at 'zhem! Now go!"

Kthulhu nodded, as he swims the ink path up to the top of the tower. Along the way, the Echolocator took effect, revealing the locations of the opponent team except for the Inkbrusher. As soon as he gets to the top, the sniper immediately gets on his sight, as he is standing on the grate platform, firing off shots at Kthulhu's right, assuming he is shooting at Raei. Eica is swimming away from the zone, maybe going to Kthulhu's, and Zayd is firing barrages of ink at the same direction the E-Liter sniper is facing. He then crouches in the floor to avoid the risk of getting detected, while maintaining his sights on the two defenders.

He ignores Eica, and focuses on the two defenders in their zone. He then looks at the direction the both defenders are firing at, and the first thing on sight is Raei in squid form swimming up the ramp and up the wall, trying to avoid fire from the defenders. As he got up to the elevated structure, he took cover.

Now he finds a good opportunity to signal another full out offensive. He calls out for Raei by signalling _Booyah!_ at him. His ears perks up, hearing the signal, and glances at the tower. He saw Kthulhu crouching at the top of the tower, looking at him. Kthulhu then mouthed the word _Inkstrike_ , and then points his thumb at the zone. He immediately picks up the plan, and horizontally flings ink to his right, which is previously painted with Pink ink. His hair now boils up with bubbles, Inkstrike ready to fire.

He then points his index finger upward, telling Raei to stay hold for a moment, as he looks at the opponent zone. Zayd is grinning like a madman, as he stays at his position playing defensive. The sniper is being alert, as his dark emerald green eyes are looks at his surroundings, as if he's on overwatching over the zone and Zayd. Bad thing is, his hair is boiling with bubbles.

"Come out, come out, Raei, y'know you can't hide, you slimy squirtboy," Zayd said with a crazy and dangerous tone on his voice, which can be enough to scare off whoever he is chasing after, "You know you can't hide from our sniper's sights! See if you're ninja squid will help you now!"

Zayd then slowly approaches Raei's location cautiously. This is Kthulhu's cue, as he immediately snaps his fingers to signal Raei to fire the Inkstrike. He complied, as he took out his Inkstrike, and launched it at the zone.

A swirling marker appeared on Zayd's foot, which is out of the zone and near the tower. Zayd's eyes widened at the sight, as he turn into his squid form, and swims away from the zone. The sniper also noticed it, as he runs a few feet away from the zone to avoid getting himself splatted by the Inkstrike. Kthulhu then backs away to the edge of the tower to get a running start before the Inkstrike lands on the mark, readying his Carbon Roller for the splat.

Another second after it is launched, it landed on its designated location, expulsing a large tornado explosion out of the Inkstrike. Thanks to the ink tornado obscuring the sniper's view of the tower, Kthulhu then quickly sprints on the tower, runs into the direction where the sniper is at, and jumps off the tower and towards the sniper and into the ink tornado, winding up his Carbon Roller. Thanks to the running start, and the fast speed he attained, he was able to make a long jump that is high and long enough to reach the sniper.

Mid-jump, he saw black spirit-like squids circling around him, Opponent Echolocator activated. A moment later, Kthulhu comes out the ink tornado out; his Carbon Roller is about swing it at the sniper. He didn't let the sniper react further as Kthulhu swings his Carbon Roller and slams it at the sniper, instantly splatting him in one shot.

He landed on the grate after he splatted him, and the ink tornado has dissipated. He glances at where Zayd is at. As soon as he turns to that direction, there's a Suction Bomb that is planted beside him by the grate. He immediately squid-jump down to avoid getting exploded by the bomb, landing near the zone, but as soon as he landed, he was immediately barraged by Zayd. He is now holding his own ground with Zayd by blocking the barrage with his Carbon Roller and moving.

After one barrage, Kthulhu quickly raises his Carbon Roller like a sword, and bring it down, flinging a vertical line of ink at Zayd. He dodged it by turning into his squid form and swims to the side and out of the zone. The zone is captured in the process.

 _ **We took Control!**_

Zayd then resurfaced, Mini Splatling charged that is about release another barrage at Kthulhu. He released the barrage, but it wasn't directed to Kthulhu but to the other side of the zone. Raei came out of nowhere and used his roller to slam the Splatling and redirect the barrage.

Kthulhu then threw a Burst Bomb directly at Zayd's face, making him stagger backwards and completely change the direction of where his ink barrage is about to fire. Raei, no longer trying to redirect his line of fire, jumps forward to Zayd, his Golden Dynamo Roller raised. As he about to land, he brings his Dynamo to Zayd, splatting him.

"Wow that was quick…" Raei said, kinda disappointed.

"We only have a minute, so no need to be showy, Raei," Kthulhu said, as he submerged to his ink to refill, "Go to our zone, and help out Verique. I'll take care of defending this zone."

"You'll defend this alone?" Raei looked at Kthulhu sceptically, "Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I've already fought three Inklings alone in a certain private match, and can still kick ass, so I believe I can handle myself defending this zone."

Realization hits Raei hard. He then scratched the back of his head nervously, "Oh, right…" He then muttered, "But you were very angry at that time…"

"Trust my judgement, Raei, I got this. Now go, before Eica and or maybe that Inkbrusher can capture our zone… I'll watch this one over."

"Ok, Captain, good luck," Raei said, before he turned into a squid and super-jumped off to assist Verique.

 _Let's just hope that they don't go all out there,_ Kthulhu thought, as he glances at the direction of the opponent team's base. The whole match was a mess of a warzone, with Control goes back-and-forth to the two teams, with the penalties making it worse. _So this is how Ranked Matches really look like when you are fighting high-ranked battlers in the roster… sounds and looks like fun, I guess…_

 _So this is where all my training will be tested; Ranked Matches…_ He was half-glad that his Kyro, his father, trained him for at least two years, or he wouldn't be able to go this far. He'll be in a shet show without him.

 _Well, better stay alert now…_ He then hides in his ink, preparing to ambush attackers who are trying to take their zone back.

" _ **30 Seconds left!**_ " The automated speaker said one more time. The Last Ditch Effort has kicked in, and that usually means he is ready to kick some ass

* * *

 _ **Another minute later**_

* * *

 **Green – 0**

 **Pink – 14**

* * *

 _Well that took longer than we expected… even with the Last Ditch Effort on…_

Kthulhu, exhausted, is using his Carbon Roller for support; his left knee is slightly aching. Raei is sitting on the floor, really exhausted after the match. Verique is leaned forward, hands resting on his knees, panting. Yeran is holding onto her Charger for dear life, her knees are buckling a little. That is one freakin' exhausting First Ranked Match, and the Overtime makes it a little worse.

"I never thought I… would get this tired… on a Ranked Match… freakin' merde…" Raei tiredly said, panting, "Ranked Matches are not usually this physically tiring…"

"I disagree, Raei," Verique objects, "Ranked Matches… are always… tiring…"

"This is a different… level of tiring…" Yeran weakly said. She is as tired as the rest of the Masquidteers, "Freakin' overtime…"

"Yeah, it's just because… Eica is in the-"

"Shut the hell up, nerd!" Yeran retorts. Getting mad sure get backs you're energy for only a few seconds.

Kthulhu then offers a hand to help Raei stand up, which he gladly accepts, "Our First Match sure is something, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," Raei agreed, as he cracks his back in relief, "You're not wee bit tired, aren't ya, Captain?"

"You're not _**raei**_ ght."

"Please stop…"

"Then stop calling me Captain."

"Negative, Cap'n, that name will be stuck until the end of the Masquidteers…"

Before the friendly banter continues, they saw the opponent team approach them, with their tentacle hair birth colors fully painted their tentacle hair. Zayd has Cyan tentacle hair, Eica has Golden Yellow tentacle hair, the Sniper has Dark Jade Green tentacle hair, and the Inkbrusher has Purple-Blue Tentacle Hair, like Raei's birth color.

Kthulhu quickly glances at Yeran, who is expectedly turning red as tomato again at the sight of Eica. He then looks back at their opponents, Zayd waving at them.

" _Guten Morgen_ ," Zayd greeted the Masquidteers in a smooth Lichten accent, which is like Verique's accent. In fact, he oddly sounds like Verique when he is not battle-crazed like in the match earlier, "Good game, lads, didn't knew you are all so strong together."

"You bet we are, Zayd," Raei proudly said in a proud tone, "Like the new team I'm in, now?"

"You're new team, eh? I thought they we're just bunch of friends playing Ranked together."

"A bunch of friends, that too, as well…"

" _The_ new team?" Eica repeated, an eyebrow rose, "It sounds like you are saying that you _joined_ the team."

"I am invited to be in the team…" Raei confirms, "I'm not the captain."

"Let me guess; Kthulhu, the fine lad beside you, is the captain and founder?" Zayd guessed. He is right about Kthulhu being a _captain_ , but he is not the _founder_ of the Masquidteers. A certain lesbian is the founder, he was just appointed as the captain.

"Well, he _is_ our captain," Raei said. He then approaches tomato-faced Yeran, wraps his left arm around her shoulders lightly, and lightly drags her back to his original position, "This girl, Yeran Murchadha, is the founder of my team."

Yeran stifled a yelp, either at the sight of Eica, or to avoid embarrassment. Still red as tomatoes, she bashfully scratches the back of her head.

Raei continued, "Without her and that nerd over there-" Verique shot an annoyed glare at Raei, "-I wouldn't be in a team sooner."

"Ohh, the founder is Yeran?" Eica asks, audibly and visibly excited, "Oh my cod, how awesome could that be!"

Yeran couldn't even speak, just like her first encounter with her, and just hides herself in her bobble hat and hoodie in embarrassment. This surprised Raei, much to the amusement of Zayd and Verique, and glances at Kthulhu, "Is she like this when she talks with Eica?"

"Maybe…" Kthulhu answers. He doesn't really know what answer he can give to him. The only time he saw her talking to Eica is after the first match against her and the sniper, and recently just now. He is unsure if she ever has run-ins with her during his hiatus, "We somehow matched up against her in one of our matches before we form our team."

"Ohhh, but why is she like this though?"

"Don't ask that to me when she's around, or she'll probably gonna punch in your squishy gut."

Zayd flashes out a smile that is brimming with pride, while looking at Verique, "Never knew that Ricky boy would be creating another team with Yeran, and have Raei and _the_ legendary Kthulhu on it. I thought that you two are already a part of another team."

 _Another team? And legendary Kthulhu? That's sounds a little exaggerating…_ Never in Kthulhu's life has he ever given such title.

"Yes, we know 'zat," Verique replied, as he walks by the flustered Yeran's side, "'Zey are out of town at 'ze moment, so having a team while 'zey are away can keep me sane enough."

"Well, at least you are quite content with them," Zayd adjusts his Octoglasses that he is wearing, "After all, I know you too well to know, right, Verique?"

Verique let out a small chuckle before replying, "Yes, yes, you know me too freakin' well, _brother_."

 _ **Surprise!**_

This got the attention of Kthulhu, Yeran, the Inkbrusher and the E-Liter sniper. Yeran is out of her shell; she took off her hood, and adjusts her bobble hat, donning the surprised and shocked expression. "B-Brother?! He's you're brother?!" Yeran said with a very surprised tone. She's not expecting that the crazy guy with an eccentric hairstyle and crazy personality would be her best friend's brother.

"Ja, Yeran, Zayd is my older brother," Verique repeats, "He's 'ze one who forces me into playing Turf Wars. Sorry for not telling you guys sooner."

"The only thing that encouraged him to play Turf Wars is Yeran also gonna play Turf Wars, because Verique used to have a crush on her until she rejected him." Zayd said, slightly amused, while making his brother blush in annoyance and embarrassment.

"Geez, Zayd, you just did a low blow 'zere," Verique said in annoyance of his brother, but also tinted with some sadness in his tone, as if he didn't took Yeran's rejection well. Yeran then pats him in the back.

"Don't worry about it; like I said many times over, at least we can still be friends," Yeran said reassuringly, "It's better than losing your friendship with me just because of this silly little crush that I have denied. In fact, I'm surprised that you somewhat took it well,"

Verique looks back at Yeran, who is not a blushing mess anymore at the moment, lets his lips form a smile, "You know how I feel about that, lad, it's still hard to get over a rejection, especially when it is your crush or someone you fall for that didn't reciprocate those feelings. Y'know what I mean, right, Yeran?"

"Yeah, I know, I know," Yeran answers, as she patted his back once more, "And even if I didn't reciprocate your said feelings, I'll always be here for ya', mate!" She then offers Verique a fist bump, in which he immediately accepted without hesitation, and with glee. Eica seems to love the sight.

"Aww, they have a strong friendship, don't you agree, Zayd?" Eica asked, genuinely warmed by the two friends.

Zayd didn't say anything about it, but manages to nod in agreement.

"I'm surprised that you're so open about this, Verique," Kthulhu said. He has not met any people that would be talking about their attempts on courting someone and end up getting rejected by them for whatever reason they have, "People will usually keep this kind of information only to themselves. It's unusual to see someone like you to share said information so casually…"

"Well, everyone in 'zis lobby already knows about it, so why not?" Verique replied in the most casual manner possible. This guy sure is something…

"I think it's enough of the love life and stuff, lads. How about we introduce ourselves to each other, no?" Zayd proposes, but Raei puts hand up, saying to halt whatever he is trying to say, and proposed something different instead.

"How about we continue the talk later, and we'll treat you guys food in Cephalon Haven, si?" Raei offered, "That match surely took a lot of us, am I right, K?"

"Yeah, sure," Kthulhu nodded, agreeing, "After all, a girl beside a certain nerd really wanted that date with Ei-"

He was interrupted by Yeran slapping him in the back of the head, "Shut up, you takoyaki! I had enough of your shite already!" She then turns to face Zayd's team, while Kthulhu rubs the back of his head. That was one mean slap, "Tá an-leithscéal orm, what he is about to say is not true-"

"Are you sure about 'zat?" Verique interrupted, mischievously grinning, with his thumb and index finger firmly presses on his chin; the word in sign language that would annoy her for eternity.

Yeran is fuming with anger and embarrassment, really flustered. It didn't really take long before she got back to her flustered self again. Zayd is grinning with pride, and Eica is trying to hold off her chuckle from coming out of her mouth. She was about to punch the nerd right in the face, but Raei got in between them, albeit trying to controlling his amusement right now.

"Alright, alright, enough with the banter," Raei said, attempting to calm down, "Now, let's get to the Cephalon Haven and chill before shite escalates quickly."

* * *

Well at least shite didn't escalate at all…

A few minute walk is enough to reach from the Inkopolis to Cephalon Haven on foot. They entered, and most of the people in the group got immediately enamoured by the atmosphere of the café, and also relieved to know that there is not much people inside the café. It's not a surprise to see the café this almost empty, as _8:14_ AM in the morning is still kinda early for the Inkopolis Inkling standards.

They found a table set that has a long table, enough to fit in eight seats; four in each side of the table. All of them take their seats; each team sat opposite to each other, with Kthulhu sits in the far right side, Raei and Yeran in the middle, and Verique in the far left. On the opposite side of the Masquidteers, the sniper is facing Kthulhu, Zayd is facing Raei, Eica is facing Yeran, and the Inkbrusher is facing Verique.

Zayd is looking around the place, intrigues about the design of the café; traditional, like those in the Ancient Japan, according the history book made by Historians, but in a modernize version. While he observes, an Inkling waitress in her work uniform; black pants, black vest, light blue long-sleeved shirt and bow tie, and black shoes, approaches the group, with four menu books for the group to find what they want to order. Her uniform somewhat contrasts on the traditional atmosphere of the café. Then again, this café is quite fancy, in a traditional way possible, so why not have their waiters and waitresses wear something fancy.

Everyone glances at the waitress as she approaches.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," She greeted the group in a smile on her face, "Here's the menu book," She puts the menu books down to the group's table and also getting greeted back by them. As she puts down a menu book in front of Zayd, he inspects the traditional look of the book, which fits the overall beautiful design of the café. He then glances at the waitress, who just puts down the last menu book to Raei.

"Interesting… I didn't know this place has been built." He commented, while looking at the waitress, "This establishment must've recently made."

"Yes, sir, Cephalon Haven is built two months ago, around the time of January," the waitress replied, "There's not much customers coming here, but I tell ya', we have good stuff here, you'll instantly be a regular here." She said it with such optimism Zayd is almost convinced about what she said.

"We certainly hope so," Zayd then opens his menu book and looks through the items, as the waitress, goes back to the counter to help out the other waiters and waitresses on other tasks.

"Alright let's see what they have on the menu," Eica said as she as well looks at her menu book with the Inkbrusher dude. Watching her eye movement, every time she goes from page to page, her eyes ever so slowly widen, probably she is seeing so many items that she liked/loved so much in the menu, "Would you look at this, Theo!" She then points an item of her interest for Theo, who seems to be the Inkbrusher, to look at.

Theo let out a small whistle, seemingly gets what Eica is pointing at, and spoke for the first time, "They have them special Mocha Frappe in the menu," He said in an Iberian accent, just like Raei's. In fact, he definitely sounds like Raei, just with a higher voice, and it's easy to assume that Theo and Raei are brothers, "You like to try, Eica?"

"A good Mocha Frappe would be nice," She said enthusiastically, as she flips another page of her book.

As she is going through the rest of the book page, Kthulhu shifted his attention back to Raei's menu. Raei is going through the Coffee and Frappuccino Section, "So, Cap'n, what do you wanna order?" Raei asked, putting down the menu to get Kthulhu a better look.

"Dunno," Kthulhu answered as he looks through the section, "I could go for a Latte Machiatto and a slice of Cookies and Cream cake."

"Ain't that specific," Raei muttered, as he looks back at the menu book, "Is this what you always go for every time you enter this place?"

"Nah, I eat a variety of food in the café," Kthulhu then flips over a page, which now contains a variety of desserts; cake slices, shakes, ice cream, banana splits, and many more delicious desserts in the menu of Cephalon Haven.

"That's a lot of desserts now that I think about it," Raei commented in a surprised tone, "With such low rate of customers in the café, I wonder how they could ever keep so many ingredients in order to make these foods for the people who eat here."

"I believe that there are fair amount of people that come here every afternoon and night, maybe enough to keep this café alive and in shape. This is a perfect place to chillax and rest after a whole day of Turf Warring, after all, especially after hours of Ranked Matches."

"True that," Raei nodded in agreement.

"Alright let's see what you can order," Kthulhu then passes the menu book to Raei, and looks at Zayd and the sniper, who is looking at the menu book that the sniper is holding. Despite the bored look on the sniper's dark emerald eyes, he seems to be intently looking for items in the menu, as if he's interested with the café's choice of foods that they have put in the menu.

"You found something you like, lad?" Zayd asked the sniper. The sniper answered by shaking his head, without uttering a single word. What a silent type. Zayd seems to notice Kthulhu watching him and the sniper take their order, as his eyes looks to the direction of Kthulhu, "Oi, lad. Can I ask something from ya?"

"You already did." Kthulhu flatly answers. This made Zayd let out a small chuckle from his lips because of how blunt Kthulhu can get.

"Har, har, _Touché_ , you squirt. Anyways, I have to ask you something."

"Shoot."

Zayd forms a gun out of his right hand and points it at Kthulhu, "Bang!"

Kthulhu strangely and blankly looks at Zayd, before he lets out his tongue a little, before his face comes flopping to the table so lightly no one could notice except for Raei, who is watching Kthulhu and Zayd's interaction strangely, slightly weirded out. Kthulhu then pulls out his face off the table and sits straight.

"What the crab are you guys doing?" Raei asks, confused and still weirded out by the whole thing.

"Don't worry about it," Kthulhu answers, "Just look back at your menu book." Already confused and weirded out enough, he looks back at the menu book he is holding, as if he didn't noticed anything weird and strange that is going on with Kthulhu and Zayd. With that note, Kthulhu looks back at Zayd, said "What do you wanna ask, anyway?"

"As I was about to say, this place looks interesting. Are you regular here?" Zayd asked curiously.

"If visiting this café for over four days counts as being a regular, yes, I am a regular here. I usually go here during breakfast, or with my team," Kthulhu answered. He is not always holed up in the Ammo Knights helping out Zrix and Sheldon with the shop, as he always go to the café to either refresh, and/or meet up with Anthur and Leili here.

Speaking of Anthur and Leili, he hasn't seen them in the café today. They are usually here to get breakfast, and they say their orders are always on the house because the manager is one of Anthur's good, good friends. Lucky freakin' love flowers they are…

"Ahh, you've been here ever since the Duel, correct?" Zayd guesses.

"Err, yeah, I somehow found this place by chance when I was wondering off the Plaza trying to find somewhere to refresh myself before the match."

"That's a bad time to find out about this restau- I mean, café. Because you never know if the first time here will be the last time you'll be eating here because of the Duel. That duel was horrid…"

 _I couldn't agree more…_ Kthulhu thought. He completely despise the Duel because of what Yudius have done and said; tampering with the rules, playing dirty, and worst of all; plotting against his sister. Oh, that's what made him despise the whole thing, as well as Yudius himself.

"Oh, my apologies, Kthulhu, I didn't mean to bring back bad memories," Zayd apologises. He seems to notice his change of behaviour, and it made Kthulhu snap back from his trance, as he looks at Zayd, then at Raei, whose expression darkened. He also noticed his other friends' reaction, which not so different with Raei's. It looks like he is not the only one who is having distaste with the mention of the Duel.

He looks back at Zayd, who seems to be looking at Raei too, eyebrow raised. To avoid any further discussion about the Duel, he finally said, "Don't worry about it; I've always here squids talking about the Duel like every single day ever since the said event started. You mentioning it are no different about other squids talking about it."

"Oh, then I'm glad," Zayd sighed in relief, "I think we have enough about the Duel, I'll ask something else.

"How come you met my brother and Yeran?" A question that seems simple enough to answer. Eica seems to be interested on knowing as well, as she passes the menu book to Theo, and slids her chair slightly closer to Zayd, and looks at Kthulhu with a curious look.

"I've been wondering that as well! I always think how lucky Verique have such a great friend like you." Eica said to Kthulhu, "How and when did you meet him?"

"You seem to be oddly interested," Kthulhu noted.

"She admires you a lot," Zayd added, with a grin on his face. This made Eica's cheeks slightly lightens up with golden light, which made her look cute and adorable.

"I told you not to say it, Zayd, geez! No respect on one's privacy." Eica pouted, as her face starts to light up as well. Suddenly he felt a big wave of the feeling of déjà vu, as he remembered about his first time setting foot to the café, when Anthur was about to say something to Kthulhu about Leili, but was stopped when she frantically covered his mouth.

Except Zayd just outright tells Kthulhu how much Eica admired him and she didn't cover his mouth…

Out of curiosity, he glances back to Yeran, who seems to be blushing cyan, with Verique looks at Yeran with the same mischievous look that he gave her ever since the first time she talked to Eica, making it look identical to a sight that he is seeing before he looks at his two friends. He then glances back at Eica, who is still pouting but she is not much of a blushing mess like a few seconds, and at Zayd, who still wears the mischievous grin, like Verique wore earlier.

 _Good gracious, the siblings has the same freakin' grin,_ He thought. Genetics really passed on to one another…

"Anyway, back to the question," Zayd changes the subject as he clasps his hands together and looks at Kthulhu in the closed eyes, "How come you met Verique and Yeran? The time he went home, he was oddly happier than he usually is. I thought he got Yeran as his girlfriend, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"Well, I first met them when I had my first ever Turf War match," Kthulhu finally answers, as he reminisce his first day on Inkopolis and his first match. There are good memories, "Got to battle with them the first time I step in to the lobby, and got to battle against Yeran-" Behind his closed eyelids, his eyes looks to Yeran, who is frowning at him, remembering what happened to her that match, "-and destroyed her, and we won."

"Ohhh, you rekt Yeran that match?" Eica said, seems to be impressed, "When was your first match exactly?"

"March 9, if I remember correctly,"

"Oooh, I think I just remembered that Yeran has drastically improve before that day, according to my brother," Zayd noted as he strokes his chin, as he glances to Yeran, who is still frowning and pouting, "What happened to you back there? Verique just said to me that day that you have the aim of an S Ranked player."

"Kthulhu's too freakin' fast, I can't hit him and his stupid stone face!" Yeran reasoned with a pinch of salt, as Eica and Zayd looked Kthulhu, just to see his expression changed from a serious and idle expression to the goofiest possible blank expression he could make, "He's avoided my first shot at him when the laser is already pointing at his face, and just dodged it no problem!"

This got the attention of the sniper, as he broke his gaze off the menu and glances at Yeran, still with the bored, half-closed dark emerald eyes. Yeran continues, "And then he started to hop, hop, and hop like a freakin' rabbit with them two bounceh' shoes stuck on 'em like glue!" Her accent quickly changed from Common to Southern Lochish during her rant, "He also survived meh' _Bomb Rush_ because of that damn _Bubblah'_ and used one of meh' _Splat Bomb_ to get near meh' and he _**splatted**_ meh! How's that fair?! I got _humiliated_ by a _**newbeh'**_ who uses a _Splattah'shot Jr._ durin' his first match, while I use the _vanilla Chargah'_ , and still lost to that _**BOI**_! Oh my she-"

She stopped mid-cuss because she notices Eica is holding back her laughter with her two hands, Zayd is covering his mouth hold a chuckle, and Kthulhu stares at her with the same goofy blank look. Her face immediately lightens up with cyan color in embarrassment, as she glances at Verique, who is chuckling with delight, his evil grin of mischief haven't faded yet.

"Oh gal', ya' certainly sounded different 'zere, didn't ya', lad" Verique said with his horrible attempt on impersonation Yeran's Lochish accent. It's a hilariously horrible sound you don't hear and you don't want to hear every day.

"Salt so strong happy-geeky-gal's accent suddenly turned to Lochian for a second there," Theo added between fits of chuckle, "Just another pinch and she'll be spittin' Lochian fire and maybe salt water out of her mouth."

"Guess 'zat happens when you absolutely rekt by a newbie who just got started- oof!" Before Verique can continue, Yeran quickly grabs him by the neck with her left arm.

"Oh yeah, nerdy boy!" She then drags his head below her waist level and rubs her free hand on top of his head, giving him a noogie, "You would've lost that match if you and the two other of your dunce teammates rely on Kthulhu there! You've been inking your pants ever since I improved with my aim! I've also beaten you after I challenged you after Kthulhu's first match!"

"Owow! 'Zat was just a warm up match, you anime geek!"

"In your dreams, techno nerd!"

 _Now that's friendship for ya',_ Kthulhu thought once again. He doesn't know how many times he said that in his mind, maybe a hundred times already. He then looks around at their table; Theo over there is slumped on to his arms, maybe unable to hold his laughter and just laughs out loud, using his cardigan to muffle his laughter, in which he even can hear over his position. Eica is still holding her laughter, albeit with more difficulty, Zayd is grinning proudly again, Raei is biting his lip to push his laughter back, and the sniper unexpectedly had his index finger pressed on his lips that his behind his bandana, probably preventing him from releasing even the slightest chuckle, which makes him the only one who is not laughing.

 _I feel kinda bad for not having an immediate sense of humor,_ Sadly, half of his sense of humor has been lost a long time ago, and it won't return to him anytime soon in the future.

While they playfully bicker there, he looks at his watch; it's _8:27AM_. _Crap, we're taking a little too long to order,_ Shenanigans sure _**eats**_ up your time, eh? To be real here, they are actually pass order time already, because they're in the café, not on a restaurant. So to not waste any more time, Kthulhu uses his usually way of shifting someone's to him; clapping his hands.

Kthulhu claps his hand, like he always does to catch attention, albeit more loudly for the whole group to hear. Everyone's shifted their gaze to Kthulhu, Yeran stopped giving Verique the noogies, Verique glances his head from Yeran's arm lock position, Theo his head up while his arms are still placed above the menu book, Eica wipes off a tear from her eyes, Zayd simply looks at Kthulhu with his grin is still attached to his lips, Raei glances at him as he puts down him menu book, and the sniper simply just looks up at Kthulhu. Everyone in the table is looking at Kthulhu now, expectantly waiting for him to say anything.

He began to speak, "Are everyone's orders ready?" Kthulhu asked everyone, as he shows his phone to them to show what it is, "I think it's time to call the waiter or waitress."

Zayd squint his eyes, maybe to have a better look on Kthulhu's phone, "Damn, we've been ordering for like thirteen minutes, geez."

"Let's ring the bell, then," Raei suggested, as he pressed the bell in the center of the table, calling out for a waiter or waitress.

A second later, the same waitress that welcomed the group, but now brings a pen and list on her hands this time, "Alright ladies and gentlemen, may I take your orders?"

"Who goes first to order?" Raei asked the group. Eica immediately raised her hands.

"Ladies first. I'll have…"

* * *

 _ **A minute and a half later…**_

* * *

"Alright, thank you ladies and gentlemen! I'll be back in a few minutes to get your orders, so have patience everyone!" She said as she walks away with the list of orders she got from the group. As soon as they gave their orders to her, Zayd proposes an idea that they should've done a fourteen minutes ago.

"Alright, as we wait, how about we start over and introduce ourselves to each other?" Zayd suggests.

"We could've done that _before_ we order our food," Raei said, "It's already past introduction time, Zayd."

"It's never too late for an introduction, right, my friend?" He then glances at the sniper, with an expectant expression on his face.

The sniper just shrugs, not saying a word.

"Silent as always," He then looks back at Raei, "My reason is that, there are two people in your group that doesn't know me or any us yet, other than me being Ricky's brother."

"I guess you're right," Raei agrees. Looks like Kthulhu and Yeran has to go through a late introduction for breakfast, "You go first, though."

"If you say so," Zayd then adjusted his glasses, making it shine. Then, he did something… bizarre, to say the least; he puts his right hand in front of his face, covering the mouth and the nose bridge, fingers completely spread out of each other, in the most fabulously ridiculous way possible, all while introducing himself, "The name's Zayden Axl Schneider, you're every day, friendly neighbourhood DJ fashionista in the city, at your service!"

 _ **BOOM! FABULOUS!**_

…

…

 _Silence…_

…

…

Kthulhu just stared at him blankly; Raei's palm is planted on his face while shaking his head, really unamused; the sniper is looking away from the conversation with his face resting against his hand that is placed on the table, uninterested; Eica covers her mouth with her fingers to hide her amusement; Verique plants his face onto his hands in complete annoyance and embarrassment, while Yeran's cheeks are slightly puffed up, trying so hard to control he laughter; and Theo over there is also blankly staring at Zayd.

Another two second of awkward silence ensues, Zayd finally speaks something, "Eh, you guys got anything to say? My hand's getting tired…"

"That's the most ridiculous introduction I've ever seen in my life," Raei bluntly criticizes Zayd's introduction, "No man in real life would do that while they are introducing themselves to someone, you freakin' anime nerd."

"Ouch, Raei, that was uncalled for," Zayd said in a fake hurt tone, as he puts down his hand back to the table.

"I didn't know you watch JoJo, Zayd!" Yeran remarked. This made Verique groan in displeasure, as he mutters, "Oh cods, the otakus has clashed…"

"Aren't you one yourself, Verique?" Yeran retored.

"Yes, I know 'zat, I just don't mention any subjects that are related to anime in public."

"Oh, come on, Raei, I know I did a good job on my fab introduction." Zayd tried to convince Raei, who is still really, really unamused. He is not a big fan of anime apparently.

"It's not that you did a good job, it's how you do your job," Raei replied, real unconvinced, "How about we let Kthulhu judge your introduction." He then glances at Kthulhu with a serious expression, "What do you say about it?"

"Fabulous." Kthulhu straightforwardly answers with a straight blank expression on his face, unfazed by the glares he is given by both Verique and Raei after he tells them what he thought about Zayd's introduction.

"HA! The mighty Kthulhu said it himself!" Zayd triumphantly shouted, as he thrusts his fist into the air, "Take that, Ra-"

"Whatever! Next person, next!" Raei interjected. He's done with his fabulously ridiculous shite. He, Zayd, and Kthulhu then glances at Eica.

Silence ensues for five seconds, until Eica noticed that the boys are looking at him, "Hmm? Me?"

"Yeah, you…"

"Oh, uhh, I thought you guys already know me."

"Well, I know you by name," Kthulhu pointed out, "and other than that and that you're the girl Yeran has been crushing on, I know nothing else about you."

"So you mean you want me to know better?"

"Yeah, as well as for a certain girl that is somewhere in my left," Kthulhu receives a burning glare from said Inkling girl, who is now currently blushing again, "Just with add something more about yourself.

"Oh well, I guess it doesn't hurt to do it again," Eica took a deep breath, before she continues with her introduction, "I'm Eicarin Chelfinn', I'm from Seine of the Northeast Region, and an aspiring model for this beautiful specimen over here." She then pats Zayd in the back, as he wears his grin of pride once again.

"I take pride of my works."

"A model, eh?" Kthulhu noted, "By your looks, you sure fit to be a beautiful model."

"Aww, thank you kindly, Kthulhu," Eica bashfully smiles at his praise, "Glad to hear from a great battler like you, Kthulhu."

"Don't mention it," He then glances at Theo, who is waiting for his turn, as he places his chin on top of his clasped hands, like a boss that is waiting for a meeting to start, "How about you, mate?"

Theo notices that Kthulhu is pointing at him, "Hmm, me?" Kthulhu nodded in confirmation, "Oh ok, I guess it's my turn; Yo there, Kthulhu and Yeran, the name's Theodore I. Savimbi, just a regular guy playin' Turf Wars and your friendly B-Ball homie, and call me Theo. Came with the homies in my left because I ran into them and they said my bro is busy with his team."

"In which he means me," Raei added, adding to another sudden reveal of relation. This made Yeran gasp dramatically, "Yes, I am that dude's older brother; my name's Raeidhen E. Savimbi."

"Oh I am glad you still remember me, bro!" Theo happily remark. He can't tell if he's being sarcastic or not with that expression of his, "Thought you forgot about me while we were battling against each other."

"Why would I? I just don't wanna spoil the surprise."

Before anyone could speak, Yeran suddenly exasperatedly groan loudly, gaining the attention of others, except for the sniper, who has yet to have an introduction, "Geez! Am I the only one that is being surprised during these random surprises?! What now for the reveal, the sniper over there is the cousin of our boi, Kthulhu?!"

That caught the snipers attention for sure, as he glances towards Yeran. At the same time, everyone glances at the sniper; all except Kthulhu are very expectant. Confused, the sniper glances back and forth between the Masquidteers, and his team.

"…what?" For the first time, he spoke in a low (as in, low volume) and odd Yangtzen accent, slightly muffled by the bandana she is wearing. Yep, he's definitely a Yangtzen. Awkward silence ensues once again, as everyone in the table stares at the sniper. They are waiting for the sniper to say something about the whole 'him being Kthulhu's cousin' guess of Yeran.

Five seconds has passed, the sniper, who is getting uncomfortable with every second of the silence, decided to break the silence by confirming Yeran's guess, "No, I'm not Kthulhu's cousin." Yeran let out an audible sigh, relieved. Eica and Theo look down in disappointment, while muttering 'aww'.

Kthulhu, who is still deadpanned and blankly stared at the sniper, "How about you say you're name to us, mate? You seem to be playing Turf War for a long time."

The sniper glances at Kthulhu before answering, "I'm still pretty new here, like two weeks ago. And the name's Jhay, Jay with an 'H'."

"So you're name's JH?"

"…" Jhay looks at him deadpanned.

"Just kidding. Anyway, still two weeks here, huh? I gotta admit, you're like Yeran; still a recent player, but plays like an S rank player."

"Well, I was taught and trained to use the charger before I start Turf Warring."

 _So he's like me… just a lot more skinny than I am…_

"He's basically Kthulhu, except Jhay's a charger user, and a lot skinnier than he looks," Yeran noted, "And Kthulhu is can still kick your ass even when you use a charger and even you have more experience than him."

"His reflexes and speed sure are impeccable, especially with the Carbon Roller." Jhay remarked.

"You're accuracy and perception is just as deadly with your E-Liter," Kthulhu returned the favour. He somehow saw Jhay's cheeks move up a little, probably smiling.

"Duo xie, Kthulhu," Jhay thanked Kthulhu in Yangtzen.

"No problem, Jhay." He then offered a fist bump to Jhay, in which Jhay accepted by bumping his own on to Kthulhu's.

"Looks like us and your team will be close from now on," Zayd noted, as he adjusts his Octoglasses, "You sure know how to get into a good team, don'cha Raei?"

Raei didn't reply immediately, as he observes the interaction between Jhay and Kthulhu. He then looked at Yeran and Verique who are now talking to Eica and Theo. Looking at his team interacting with his other good, good friends sure is a lovely sight to behold. He then glances back at Zayd, "Yeah, Zayden, I can agree with that. Who knew that we would meet you guys in battle…"

"None of us know, except for the one that is behind the papers, writing our destinies."

"What a weird way to shatter the wall…"

"Don't worry; they still have money to pay the repairs for it." Zayd then winks. Geez, we are broke Zayd, y'know how expensive the fee is for repairing the wall?!

Another minute has passed, the waitress from earlier returns with the orders they have given to her that is placed on a tray she is carrying, "Here are your orders!" She then puts a glass of blueberry smoothie with a long straw down to Verique. Then, she put down a plate of three pancakes stacked to each other with maple syrup and a fork and a small knife (not the kitchen kind) on it to Theo, whose mouth's starting to water how appetizing it looked. After that, she puts down a small glass of caramel milkshake with cherry on top to Yeran, who silently muttered "Yes!"

She then moves to Raei, and puts down the food he ordered; a plate of a slice of blueberry pie and a strawberry pearl shake. She then grabs a plate that contains one of Kthulhu's ordered foods; a slice of cookies and cream cake, and then she puts down a Latte Macchiato to Kthulhu. Oh, he loves a good smell of coffee macchiato on the morning.

"There are still other foods in the tray that I haven't brought for Mr. Zayd and Ms. Eica, so stay put for a moment, I'll get it for you two," The waitress then goes to the counter with an empty tray to get the last few orders.

"Alright!" Theo then grabs his fork and knife, about to slice a piece off a pancake from his plate, "Chow time!"

"Ehem, Theo," Before Theo could even get one piece, he was stopped by Kthulhu. This made him look at him, confused, "Not to be rude, but manners. How about we wait for Jhay, Eica, and Zayd's food to arrive, so we can eat together? Don't worry, the waitress will arrive shortly with their order and you can eat on whatever pace you want."

Theo then glances at his pancakes, and contemplated on what Kthulhu said. After a moment, he puts down his fork and knife down back to his plate, "Ok, then."

Thirty seconds has passed, Jhay, Eica, and Zayd's food has arrived. She goes to Jhay first, and puts down a Buko Pandan pearl shake. Then to Zayd, she puts down a plate of a big chocolate coated donut and an espresso coffee. Lastly, to Eica, she puts down a long dish that contains the banana split dessert, and a Mocha Frappe Cephalon Café Edition.

"Here are all of your orders, ladies and gentlemen! If you are finished eating, just call us and we will give you your tab. Enjoy your stay!" She then returns back to the counter for other tasks. As she leaves, Eica started to excitedly giggle, which almost made Yeran faint.

"Oh my, they have such a good looking Banana Split here!" She excitedly noted, as her mouth waters in delight.

"Welp, I guess its time," Kthulhu then grabs his fork and knife, then spins them like drum sticks, "Alright, mates, its _chow time_."

"Yeah!" Theo, Eica, Yeran, and Verique shouted in unison, as they proceed to eat/drink what they have ordered.

This time felt nice…

Meeting new faces and new friends, hanging out with them, and have a good time. What truly a nice time to do such things with them, after a tiring first match and somewhat tiring hiatus, finally back together, doing what friends normally do in a normal day. Kthulhu has finally felt a big wave of relaxation washed inside him like a small tidal wave, having fun with his friends in and out of Turf Wars.

Well… better enjoy this moment while it lasts… after all, they still have work to do in Ranked.

* * *

 _ **A/U –**_ _And that's it for today's chapter! After the victory of the Masquidteers against Zayd's team, they decided that they should go have a sweet breakfast in Cephalon Haven, the meeting spot of the Masquidteers, while Zayd introduce his team to Kthulhu and Yeran, who was yet to know them. In the next chapter, we will go through four perspectives of four certain people, and let's see what events will unfold in their eyes._

 _Alright! It's finally finished! I'm sorry if you found this chapter boring because it was a little longer and maybe boring, but personally, I freakin' love this chapter! Writing my characters here are so much fun to do. Hope this chapter is worth the wait. :D_

 _Also, I'll try to make the next chapter short as possible, maybe around 2,000 – 5,000 words. I wanted to get to the main point of the story as fast as I can, while keeping a little slow and moderate pace of storytelling before that said point of the plot, so if you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **.:Preview for the next chapter:.**_

* * *

This is not going so well for me…

I'm having this headache again…

Ever since I got in the train from Karaga to Inkopolis, I get the same short headache every other minute or hour so, and it is cracking my brain apart. I don't know how this happened, but my cousins said it was just overthinking. I tend to agree on them, the problem is even if I tried to relax my mind, this headache just comes back.

I tried the medicine I just bought after I return back to Inkopolis, Advil. It lessens the pain, but it doesn't really help take it away.

What is going on with me?

Another minute passed, the headache dissipates. Sadly, I know that this will come back in the meantime. I suddenly felt tired again, or worse, hot. This usually tells if an Inkling is ill, and if they have a fever. I touched my neck with the back of hand; slightly hot. Then I touched my forehead; same temp as my neck. No, not fever, just really tired.

Even if I'm not sick, I don't think I am in condition to play Turf Wars. My headaches will just come back during Turf Warring, and I'll just be a big burden to my team if that'll happen during a match. So I don't want to risk myself playing match, and I decided to just stay at the suburbs for a day.

As I stand up from the couch, I fished out my phone from my pocket, and entered the chatroom my cousins and their friends, specifically Yeran, Verique, Rodhann, Zrix, and Mikaela. I then entered a text for them.

* * *

 _ **LyKa915**_

 _hey guys_

 _i don't feel well today_

 _headaches_

 _i think i'll have to retire from tw for a day_

* * *

And there, I didn't wait for them to reply, as I enter my room, which is where I left them; a freakin' mess, and I begin to clean it up.

* * *

 **Development starts - Tomorrow/After upload**

 **Chapter will be uploaded in - Between Early May to Middle of May**


	4. Sightseeing

_**A/U-**_ _Welp I tried. Ou_ _O;_

 _This chapter has more than 5,000 words, **A/U** not included, and probably just enjoying doing a certain scene here. Didn't too well in Word Planning XP. So, anyway, don't wanna keep you any longer, and I'll let you read the chapter. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4**_ _ **–**_ _Sightseeing_

* * *

"So that's what the handle is for…" Zayd inspects the picture that is shown on Kthulhu's phone, while he takes a bite from his slice of cake. The picture is Kthulhu's Carbon Roller with the handle placed on the roller holder, "Don't you think it's kind of impractical though? Because even if it's still one-hit-splat, you still have to hit someone in the middle to splat someone with it, which is pretty difficult, especially against Chargers who has a big advantage against Rollers."

"If you're speed and reflexes are that of a sea slug, then yes, it'll be impractical and difficult," Kthulhu answered, as he puts away he phone back to his pocket, and takes a sip from his frappe.

"I guess you're right…" Zayd then takes a sip from his espresso coffee, "Ahh, espresso here tastes so good."

The whole breakfast is filled with curiosity, praises for the food, lively chatter, and banter. The group sure is having a great time together at Cephalon Haven. Friendships are formed rather fast during their time at the café, probable two of the Team Masquidteers' already knew Zayd's team, so it is easy to be friends with them.

Speaking of friends, Kthulhu looked glances back at his chair, spotting a certain DJ friend of his that is in the counter, grabbing his plate that contains a meal that you usually see during breakfasts; eggs, a hotdog, and rice, a simple Lapunian meal set. That certain DJ then glances at Kthulhu's direction, noticing him as well. He waved hello to him, as he approaches the table set the group is sitting by, unnoticed by any of Kthulhu's friends.

" _Magandang umaga, K,_ " Anthur, the Lapunian DJ greeted Kthulhu in Lapunia, his and Kthulhu's native language, " _Musta dyan? Bagong mga kaibigan?_ "

"' _Gandang umaga rin,_ DJ," Kthulhu greeted Anthur back in Lapunia, as the two bump each other's fists and gave each other a high five. This grabs the attention of the whole group, " _At Oo, mga bagong magagandang kaibigan._ " Kthulhu then glances back, to see a shock-and-awe expression plastered across Zayd's face, and Eica wore a surprised expression. They seem to know him.

"Morning, Anthur, good to see you here," Raei greeted Anthur, inviting him to another fist bump, in which he immediately accepts.

"Good morning, Anthur!" Yeran and Verique greeted him unison, happy to see him again. They haven't seen him as much in days.

"Morning to you all, R, Y, and V, a pleasure to see you guys again," He then looks at Kthulhu's new friends, seeing Zayd's even more shocked face with his mouth agape, Eica's surprised expression, and Theo's awed face, "Oi there, with the fancy hairstyle and glasses, careful there before you catch a fly with your mouth open wide."

Noticing his face, Zayd shook his head, breaking him away from his trance, but he still looked shocked despite all of that. He managed to utter a word, "Y-you guys know DJ Anth4?!" Eh, not _a word_ , a _question;_ He managed to utter a question. He sounded like he met his idol and started fanboying.

"Yeah, he's friends with our Captain before the Duel started to be a thing," Raei answered, "Me, Yeran, and Verique met him after it."

"F-friends?! Oh my squit, I'm getting jealous of you, Kthulhu!" Zayd's tentacle suddenly turned green in envy.

"You're suddenly a little green there, brother," Verique remarks as he chuckles at the sight.

"Green of envy, for sure…"

Anthur puts down his plate between Kthulhu and Jhay then approaches the comically overreacting Zayd, in which he glances much quicker than Kthulhu could even swing his Carbon Roller, "So you're the brother of Verique, I see. I didn't know he had a brother," He then held out his right hand to Zayd, inviting a handshake, "Tell me ye' name, mate."

Zayd frantically looks at his hands, and then him. A moment later, he finally shakes his hands, now in a relaxed manner, "The name's Zayden Schneider, a fashionista, and also a DJ, like you. Call me Zayd. I'm a big fan of your works, Sir Anthur!"

"I'm glad to hear you like my music, Zayd, and just Anthur is fine," Both then let go of their hands, "And a DJ and a Fashionista, huh? I assume you take clothing commissions, yes?"

"I do in fact! What do you want me to make, Anthur?" Zayd is getting a little too excited with this commission thing.

"Not right now, I'm just asking about it," This shatters Zayd's hopes of making clothes for his idol as he looks down in disappointment, "Maybe next time." Zayd quickly beamed and quickly bounces back to his original self.

Anthur's gaze changes to Eica, who waved him hello, "Well, hello there, milady," He then gently grabs her right hand, and softly kisses it. This made Yeran stifle a gasp, and her tentacle hair quickly turned from cyan to green, and also made her blush green profusely. She, too, is turning green of envy, but in an entirely different reason.

In Eica's case, she let out a small giggle at Anthur's polite gesture, "What a gentleman you are, Mr. DJ."

"Gotta be polite around a beautiful senorita like you," Anthur said in a politely dramatic way, making her slightly blush, slightly flattered. Yep, he definitely needed to be in a drama play, he's a perfect fit for the role of the prince. He then let go of her hand, before politely asks a question, "May I know your name, Miss?"

"Eicarin Chelfinn', Anthur, it's a pleasure make your acquaintance. Just Eica is fine with me."

"It's a pleasure too, Eica. Say, are you a… model, by any chance?"

"I guess I can call that myself; a model for Zayd, if it counts."

"A model's still a model. Do some; let us say, magazine companies, offer you to become their model for like some of their monthly magazines? Because you look like a perfect model for magazine covers, and maybe some of those commercials that most clothing company made to show off new fresh trends with Inkling models like you."

"Oh, thank you kindly, Anthur, and yeah, there are many of them that offered me to star on some of their magazine covers, as well as for some clothing commercials. It has been long ever since I have been offered to be in those commercials and stuff."

"Well ain't that a bummer."

"No worries, I still have Zayd. I work with him on testing clothes almost every day in his shop."

"Well that's good to hear."

Raei cleared his throat, getting the Lapunian DJ's attention, before speaking, "Anyway, Anthur, how about you grab a sit and eat with us? I'm sure we have so many things to tell to each other, so why can't we do that while we eat breakfast?"

"And also your shift," Kthulhu added.

"Yes, your morning shift, that too."

"Ah yes," Anthur then looked at his watch, "My morning shift. Hold on, I'll grab a chair."

He then goes to an empty table, grabs a chair, and carries it to the same table set the group is eating at, placing it by the end of the table, just by between Kthulhu and Jhay. He then sits to the chair, and there he eats his breakfast with Kthulhu's friends before going back to the Eelectric Wailers, the club he is working at.

* * *

 _ **Location:**_ _Suburbs of Inkopolis, Block #24…_

 _ **Time:**_ _March 18_ _th_ _, 2014, 10:06AM…_

* * *

I woke up with a start; my head is throbbing badly, as I sit up with difficulty, body aching, and my left hand clutching to my forehead.

This is not going so well for me…

I'm having this headache again…

Ever since I got in the train from Karaga to Inkopolis, I get the same short headache every other minute or hour so, and it is cracking my brain apart. I don't know how this happened, but my cousins said it was just overthinking. I tend to agree on them, the problem is even if I tried to relax my mind, this headache just comes back.

I tried the medicine I just bought after I return back to Inkopolis, Advil. It lessens the pain, but it doesn't really help take it away.

What is going on with me?

Another minute passed, the headache dissipates. Sadly, I know that this will come back in the meantime. I suddenly felt tired again, or worse, hot. This usually tells if an Inkling is ill, and if they have a fever. I touched my neck with the back of hand; slightly hot. Then my I touched forehead; same temp as my neck. No, not fever, just really tired.

Even if I'm not sick, I don't I am in condition to play Turf Wars. My headaches will just come back during Turf Warring, and I'll just be a big burden to my team if that'll happen during a match. So I don't want to risk myself playing match, and I decided to just stay at the suburbs for a day.

As I stand up from the couch, I fished out my phone from my pocket, and entered the chatroom my cousins and their friends, specifically Yeran, Verique, Rodhann, Zrix, and Mikaela. I then entered a text for them.

 _ **LyKa915**_

 _hey guys_

 _i don't feel well today_

 _headaches_

 _i think i'll have to retire from tw for a day_

And there, I didn't wait for them to reply, as I enter my room; it is a moderate sized room, with a bed that can fit three people, a cabinet that stored all of my clothing, a hat stand that contains few of my favourite headgear; a Safari Hat, Urchin Cap, Beanie, and Bobble Hat. There also a desk where my own laptop that is in a shape of a squid and others, a basket full of worn clothes that I have yet to wash is at the right side the desk, and a mirror is placed a few feet away from the bed. It is where I exactly left them before I leave; a freakin' mess. So before my headache returns and kill me, I begin to clean my room up.

I fix and adjust my bed cover, sheets, and pillows back to its original place. After that, I opened my cabinet; it is slightly a mess, so I cleaned up my cabinet by fixing disoriented clothing on there by folding back some of the messy clothes. Then, I go to my desk, grabbed the pencils and put them back on my mug where I keep my materials, put all of my paper that I have used to draw comics scraps and put them back to their perspective folders. I put those folders away back to my drawer of my desk. And then, I cleaned up the rest of the mess…

 _ **Two minutes later…**_

Alright, room's cleaned up, and no headaches latched onto my head. Better leave that way for now.

I've changed up my shirt from the Vintage Check Shirt to a Blue Shirt with sleeves reaches below my elbows that I commissioned to a friend of mine. It's just a casual shirt I usually wear whenever I pull myself way from Turf Warring. Then, I grabbed my Jungle Hat and put it on, take my earphones that I have bought when I was in the Arowana Mall with Tara one time, and I make my way out of my house, through the same I door I used to enter. As soon as I exited, I put plugged my earphone to my phone, and then plug the pieces to my long ears.

It's time to take a walk for while around the Suburbs, my hands are on my pocket, getting some fresh air.

* * *

"Welp, there she goes…" Tara, who is sitting on her couch with her Squiffer and ink tank resting beside her, sighed. Kyla seems to have these headaches nowadays with an unknown cause. This worries both herself and her brother, Sero, who is putting his Squid Layered LS on, and places his Pilot Goggles on top of his head.

"What's going on, sis?" Her brother asks her sister, grabbing his ink tank and lets it rest on his right shoulder, "Something happened to Kyla?"

"Kind of, bro," Tara answered, as she puts her phone back to the pockets of her cycling shorts, "Headaches again. She won't be playing Turf Wars with us for a while."

"That sucks," He let out a sigh, worried about their cousin's condition, "I'm getting really worried. Her headaches don't seem to go away quickly."

"It fades out quickly, to be frank, but it quickly comes back to her head. She's not having this problem as much the time we started Turf Warring, but I think it gets worse when we were leaving Karaga."

"Yeah, she does look like she can't bear the pain any longer…"

The siblings fell into silence, letting out another worried sigh in unison. There must be a way to stop these constant headaches that keeps on attacking her. They have visited the doctor in the clinic before, and it did help lessen the headaches from coming after her, so visiting again might help.

Tara is the first one to break the silence, "How about we take her to the clinic again? That might work out fine."

"Hmm, yeah, we don't have any other choices anyway," Sero agreed, as he puts on his ink tank, and takes his Splat Roller that is leaning against the wall beside him, "When, though? She usually just walks around the suburbs or around Inkopolis by herself when she is not Turf Warring."

"She's rather stubborn, so doing it now is not the best idea," Tara stands up from her couch, and grabs her ink tank and puts it on her back, "Tomorrow, we will make her go back to the clinic."

"Then it's settled?"

"Si, tomorrow," She then grabs the Squiffer, and she lets it hang behind her back, "While we wait for tomorrow, how about we play some Turf? Yeran and Verique seem to be busy for some odd reason, as they haven't replied to me yet, so Rodh and Mikaela will have to go with us for now."

"Alright," Her brother then lets his Splat Roller rest by his shoulders, "Let's not keep them waiting, then."

"Agreed. Vamonos, brother! Let's see what has happened in Inkopolis Plaza while we are away."

And there, they exited their house through the door, making their way to the Inkopolis Plaza.

* * *

It's been a minute since I left the house to walk around the place, and so far no headaches came to me, which is good, because I need all my time to keep myself from overthinking about my missing brother and father. The last thing I need is an overheated mind that will be stuck with me during Turf Wars.

As I walk through the peaceful path of the Suburbs, I stopped by a big vacant lot, encountering a group of seven young Inklings that looked around the age of 8-11, playing _patintero_ at the lot, a classic game which is pretty common in Lapunia for small kids.

In _patintero_ , where there are two teams; one team are the runners, and one team will be the ones blocking the runners. There will be a line drawn to point out where one or more guards can only move in, usually three lines, depending of the number of players. The runners will have to go through the guards without getting touched by them, or else, the player that got touched will instantly be out. Runners can go one-by-one or together, the choice will be upto the runners. If a runner runs pass all of them without getting touched, they win.

I used to play that game a long time ago, when I was a little squid, but I've grown a little too old for me to play it again. I silently watch the young inklings play the game. A Lime-Green Inkling started to run pass the first guard successfully without getting touched. They then stopped by in front of the second guard and out of their reach. The Lime-Green Inkling waited and waited, and he tried to get pass the second guard, but they are quick, and the guard successfully touched the runner.

"Awwww!" The Lime-Green Inkling groaned, "You're so quick!"

"You're just slow, Wrauss!" Teased the second guard, who is a Cyan Inkling.

It is the Yellow Inkling's turn to run. They easily went pass the first guard with incredible speed, and they stopped by the second guard. The Yellow Inkling slowly sidewalks to their right, while the guard tried to line up with them to block the runner, giving both players the feel of suspense.

"You think you can pass me, aren't you, pretty girl?" Well, that guard gave away the runner's gender. Guess I won't be troubled assuming her gender, as it is difficult to tell one squid kid's gender unless experts use a device to tell it.

"Yes, I am! Watch me!" She answered. Then again, she now sounded like a girl, for sure. She sidesteps to her left in an incredible speed. The guard tried to sidestepping too, but as soon as he tried, the runner sidestepped back to her original spot, and hopped passed the guard. You go, girl.

"Oh what!?"

"Told ya!" She let out her tongue out to the guard, teasing him. She then glances back to the third and final guard, who is a Purple Inkling wearing a small pair of sunglasses, with their arms crossed. It looks like we have badass here, by their looks, there's a chance they might be a skilled player.

"Try to get past me, pretty girl!" The Purple guard challenged, as they go to a stance that you usually see in Football.

"Oh I will, bad boy!" Looks like I won't have to use those pronouns on him. The runner then slowly sidewalks to her left again, same thing that she did to the last guard she just passed earlier. The guard didn't immediately try to line up with her, and he did after she went three steps. Five steps later, the runner then side-hopped to her right again, and side-hopped again, and hopped forward for the win.

Until a hand touched her in the noggin…

The bad boy quickly picks up the pace with her, and quickly catches up with her and touched her forehead.

"What?! How did you get here so fast?!" The runner asked, baffled.

"You think I'm not fast even if I'm still a squid?" The bad boy asks smugly, as he adjusts his sunglasses up, making the lenses reflect sunlight, "My father's a profreshional track and field runner, and I inherit his speed."

"Boo, you're just lucky!"

"Tell yourself that. Next!"

She let out a huff and pouted, as she goes to the sidelines, besides Wrauss. I glanced to the last runner that will try and run through the guards. I can't even get a glimpse of last runner as they went off with a blur, passing through the first two guards within seconds. Wow, this kid's fast.

The only time I could see the last runner is when they stopped by the final guard. The runner is a Pink Inkling, with a flower on their head. This might be the only time I'll assume genders; she wears a confident smile on her lips, and she looks a little smaller than most of the kids in the lot.

"As quick as always, petals," The badass remarked as he gets to his stance earlier, "But you'll never get past through me!"

"Oh, yeah?" She said, and her voice is definitely of an 8-10 year old girl, "Then try catch up with me!"

What she did next quite a sight to behold; she is side-hopping back and forth in a quick rate, maybe even faster than the badass guard that is trying so hard to keep up with her pace. A few more side-hops later, she did a short side-hop to her right, throwing the guard off as he is too focused on her initial side-hops as he side-hopped a little too far from her. She then leaps pass him for the win.

"Yeah! Fakes for the win!" She cheered as she jumps up in the air in triumph. The other runners run to her cheering for her victory. Even the first two defenders were amazed by her speed, and joined the other runners. The last guard took a bit of time to recover, but he eventually did, and finally complimented her triumph.

 _Heh, kids,_ I smiled at the thought, as I watch the kids interact with each other, _It's endearing that kids is so carefree and happy, playing games and such,_ I wish I could relive those days. Sadly, time really doesn't let you do that, so we have to face that inevitably cruel truth someday.

My train of thoughts were broken when the kids saw me watching over them playing. They seem to recognize me, as they happily wave at me with their cute and tiny arms. I smiled at the sight, as I wave back at them. After that, they immediately get back to whatever they are doing, and they started to run around the lot. I decided that it's time for to move along, as I walk pass the lot that the kids are playing at, and move to somewhere else.

Better not let them see me when I suffer from my damn headaches…

* * *

Here I am… in the Suburban Centre…

It's in the centre of the suburbs where people can hang out and does stuff, like shopping, play video games that you not normally see in the Plaza, eat in restaurants, and many more you could think of. It's not as big and popular as the Inkopolis Plaza, but it's pretty well known for most of the residents in the Suburbs. It's not that far from my house, so it's easy to travel here on foot.

Nothing has changed much in here. The place doesn't have much people here at the moment, as its still morning, and the time that this place will be crowded is afternoon. So I have still have time to roam around without getting squished by big crowds here.

First thing to do; get to a vendor that sells beverages, and find a chair to sit on, that's it for now; my legs are getting kinda tired of walking, and my throat is getting dry a bit. I walked up to a vendor that sells Pearl shakes, like those you can find in Cephalon Haven, a café somewhere near Inkopolis Plaza. They have great food and desserts there.

I bought myself a Milk Tea Shake with Pearls at the bottom, and I found myself an empty table with two seats, one from each side, and a big umbrella is planted in the beside the table. Before anyone can take it, I sit on one of the chair at the empty table and cross my legs. I proceed to take my straw, put it on my drink, and I sip it through the straw.

While I do so, I observe around the centre; Inklings goes in and out of the video game shop, go inside the small restaurant establishments in the plaza, goes to the fountain and throw a coin in there to make a wish, buy clothes on the nearby shops, and probably other more things. Even if there aren't much Inklings at this time, the place is still bustling with activity.

There's not much observation I did, because as soon as I put down my shake at the table, my head suddenly pulsated in pain, like my liquid skull is getting bashed with a baseball ever second. _Dammit, my headache's back!_ I immediately started to rub my temples to ease my headache and lessen the pain.

While I attempt to ease the pain in my head, someone appeared on the other seat; a little Inkling boy that looks like at the age of eleven years old standing in the seat opposite of me. They are wearing dark red shirt, and long kid's pants. They color is awfully familiar red, and his is… closed… like mine… wait… no, it can't be _him…_ Then, the next second he suddenly disappeared in thin air, as my ears started to ring, and weird wavy things started to swim in my sight.

A minute and a half later, my headache dissipates once again, my ears stopped ringing, and those wave things disappeared. I put both my hands on the table, blankly staring at the shake I just ordered, wondering; _what the heck is really happening with me? Why is this headache coming back to me?_ _What's the cause of it? Am I hallucinating? Did the Shake worsen it?_ No, not really, I've continuously got this headache ever since I got here in Inkopolis, and I got the same headache before I even get a Pearl Shake. If it's not those things, then what is it causing me to get this headaches?

 _Damn, I really need to consult either a therapist or a doctor right now…_

"Have something on your mind lately?" A deep and familiar voice came into my right ear, "…or are you thinking a- _ **head**_ for something?"

When I heard that voice, I looked to my right, and I saw a dark-skinned Inkling that is as tall as me. He has five tentacles tied up, all are in color of the sky; light blue, with its tips are colored dark blue. He wears a big grin on his face, and his eyes are all pitch black with the exception of his pupils, in which is like small and pure white orbs that looks like their floating in his eyes. He wears a blue furry hoodie, light blue shirt, black baggy pants, and blue sneakers.

Yep, it's definitely him, the lovable dork in the shop Ammo Knights; Zrix Denur, one of my first ever friends that I met during my first few days of my Turf War career in Inkopolis. He didn't change much ever since I met him; he still tells me bad puns, and he didn't change his choice.

His appearance suddenly changed the mood, and I smiled thanks to his appearance, "Musta, Zrix, long time no see."

"Yeah, Kyla, good to see ya', too," He then spreads his arms, inviting me for a hug, "Give your old pal a hug," Heh, typical Zrix. I stood up from my seat, as I walk to him and give him a hug-

 _ **PFFFFFFFFFT!**_

Oh cod, that trick again…

As the whoopee cushion lets out air that sounded like farts, I can hear Zrix lets out an amused chuckle, amused on his own joke, "Heheh, ahh, the whoopee cushion on the hoodie trick-"

"-is always, isn't it?" I finished, as I let out a small chuckle, but part me remained unamused. I know him a little too well to know what he is about to say.

Zrix let out another chuckle, as the both of us break free from each other's hugs, "Yeah, y'know me well, Kyla Yun Zhao. Ya' know me really well."

Both of took a seat, as I go back on the same chair I sat earlier, and he sits at the chair opposite of me. After that, he asked, "So, how's life on your hometown?"

"Ehh, it's been pretty normal," I answered. There's nothing much new in Karaga, except with some new trends that has exploded all across SplatNet, "Still the same 'ol Karaga that I always know since I was a little squid."

"Nothing much has changed, huh?"

"Yeah, but me and my cousins did some errands there for my uncle, so it did not get that boring there."

"Well, that's glad to hear. I would've bust my way to your home, and give you and your cousins a good laugh or two."

"I bet you would."

"Not would, but I will, sweetheart."

"I already told you many times to stop calling me that!"

"You are just as sweet as a chocolate. That's why I always call you a _**sweet**_ heart."

"Maybe because you know that I like eating sweets and stuff."

"That, and because you're just actually pretty _sweet_ person."

"Double tease?"

"I call it, _complimenting_."

"Well, I call it, _teasing_."

"You wanna call it _flirting_?"

That made my face flush in embarrassment. _I swear to cod, he always fluster me every time he gets a chance,_ "I-I didn't said that! Don't say that out of blue!" _Wait a minute… ah, shet…_

"Nice pun, I'm proud of you."

"Argh, what have you done to me?!"

"Aww, you look so cute and sweet, you give me diabetes."

"Stop teasing me, Zrix! Geez!" In the end, both of us just laughed it off, like all of those playful teasing are just jokes to bring up the good atmosphere. Although, there's a big limit of how much I can handle the heat that is rising in my face right now and I think I have reached it.

"So, ahem," Zrix cleared his throat, his tone turns from playful to friendly and carefree, the tone that I always hear from him, "Teasin' and jokin' aside, even if there's not a lot happened in your hometown, there's… so many that happened here…"

"Can you update me with what's trending here? It does seem like there are a lot that happened." I'm always interested on what has been happening here in Inkopolis. You can't miss on the new trends so that you can keep up making yourself fresh here in the city.

He doesn't reply immediately, as he leaned his slightly to his left, as if he is looking at someone, "Well, if you have good hearing, hints are on those two Inklings over there right in that restaurant entrance." _Huh? What does he mean?_ I glanced behind me, seeing apparently the two Inklings that Zrix has been talking about; two girls. I listened to their conversation;

" _Have you heard about the Duel, Ria?" The girl with green tentacle hair, and she wears a black Rockenberg Tee, and Pink Trainers, with no headgear, "That Duel was intense!"_

" _Yeah, I heard about it few days ago," Ria answered, the one girl that has cyan tentacle hair with camping hat that is by her neck, a Camo Layered LS, and Red Hi-Tops, "The Duel is pretty scary; one guy against three people. I would immediately back out if I have to face against the likes of Yudius. And that lone guy is pretty new in Turf Warring, too!"_

 _Yudius?_ What is his problem again? He doesn't stop going on newbies and challenge for no absolute reason. I continued to listen;

" _True, poor guy got his ass kicked in the first half…"_ Anger somewhat boiled inside me, a feeling that I don't normally feel. But when I heard about him getting beaten up in the first few minutes of the match, is just annoying.

" _Damn that Yudius guy. Good thing he is now banned…"_ Wait, what? Arrested? Did the Duel got interrupted or something?

" _Yeah, that guy is one big a-hole, he deserves it! He deserves it after he insulted Kyla!"_ Huh? He did what?

I glanced back at Zrix, confused of what they mean, to see him having a sudden interest in my shake, his white pupils are gone. _Is it really that bad?_ I looked back at the two girls gossiping, and continued to listen;

" _-doesn't really like what they said to her for sure, he got so angry he kicked Yudius' team's ass in the second half!" The first girl told Ria._ Hmm, the newbie have beaten Yudius and his team, thanks to his anger. Who is this guy? _"The time Yudius fired a shot from his Bamboozler, and that guy with the skull bandana threw his burst bomb, he suddenly becomes a god and blocks both of them!"_ That guy is not a newbie. Must be a smurf mistaken for a newbie.

" _And after that, he kicked their asses with his agility and speed! He even managed to redirect an Inkstrike back to them!"_ Redirecting an Inkstrike? What do they mean? _"He literally redirected that with his own hands like a boss!"_ Definitely a smurf mistaken as a newbie, there's no way he can redirect that Inkstrike just by manually change its trajectory. That's impossible.

" _How about we talk more inside, hmm?" Offered the first girl, "More food in our stomachs, we can spit more stories to tell to each other, yes?"_

" _Sure!" Ria accepted, "I'm pretty hungry, anyway. I haven't eaten breakfast this morning." And there the two friends go inside the restaurant named Harbour Waves Feast._

Well… that was interesting at best… The Duel, eh? That happened when we were away? When did that happen? Who's that newbie guy that just beaten three opponents alone that got challenged by Yudius? So many questions generated after that. Maybe Zrix knew about this.

I glanced back at Zrix, and to my surprise, he is nowhere to be seen. He is not in his seat anymore, and my shake is gone too! Sheesh, that freakin' bonehead, he's so rude to leave a lady alone on a table and take her shake with him. Then my phone rings, as I fish it out of my pocket. In the notifications bar, shows Zrix has sent a message to me.

* * *

 _ **Zrix**_

 _ **-**_ _yo, zrix here_

 _supah jump to moray towers_

 _coordinates is on my info_

 _i gave you and only you access_

 _we could talk more there in private_

 _ok?_

 _my sj coordinates is at my pb, so you can easily be here faster_

* * *

How the heck did he get there so fast?! The Towers is miles away from the Moray Towers, it'll take like an hour to get there! Screw him and his shortcuts…

Well, I still have many questions that I need to be answered anyway. So I navigate through his contact info, and pressed "Coordinates", and I proceed to Super Jump to his location.

* * *

At least I didn't get a headache during that Super Jump…

After what seems to be the longest Super Jump I've made in my whole career, I arrived in Moray Towers, as I am about to land at one of the starting points of the stage, but not the way I wanted to be. As soon as I was about to land, Zrix, who is waiting by the marker that is made whenever Inklings Super Jump, catches me as I am about to land and turn back to Inkling form, in bridal style, all while holding the plastic cup of the shake I bought earlier before he took it away from me.

"Gotcha', lad," Zrix said as he catches me, "Looks like I got myself a lucky catch!"

In squid form, I stared at him, unimpressed, "Never letting go of old habits, eh, Mr. Denur?" He's been doing to me so many times outside and even inside Turf Wars, so it doesn't really faze me anymore. He's not doing it anymore during Turf Wars, because when I match up against him and he catches me super jumping, I just slap him with my Inkbrush or just squish him by turning into a Kraken with the Slosher Deco or just splash him with ink with it.

"Nope and maybe never will, sweethe-" I interrupted him by lightly punching him by his stupid grin on his face, which never leaves his face as he lightly chuckles. He then puts me down afterwards, and finally gave my shake back, "Didn't really take you long enough to get here. You learned something from those two babes?" Hearing him call them _babes_ , I suddenly feel funny inside my chest.

Ignoring that, I answered, "Well, I did learn something, about _The Duel-_ " Zrix's eyebrows slightly furrows, it's like _The Duel_ is a poison for his ears, "-but the info I got from them… is rather little… so, since you are still here after we leave Inkopolis for a while, you mind telling me some of the battle's details?"

Zrix, again, didn't immediately answer, as he stares at me for a few moments, a gesture that he does when he directly asked or question about something. Ten seconds has passed, he sighed, as he answers, "I'm not going into too much detail, but I'll tell you some great and important bits and pieces of the match."

He then goes to the edge of the Tower where Inklings can see the city, "How about you sit down for a while I tell you the story? I bet you're tired after that trip of yours." In fact, I am, but because of the trip, but because of me napping and wake up with a headache. Nevertheless, I sat down at the edge, with one of my legs hang by the edge, and my other leg rests at the tower, "Just careful though, you may fall off."

"Don't worry, about it, I do this all the time. So tell me, what happened during that battle?" I started to ask as I take a sip from my shake.

* * *

 _ **Location:**_ _Someone's house…_

 _ **Time:**_ _10:10AM, earlier…_

* * *

Just woke up now…

I sleepily sit up from my messy bed, yawning loudly. I got exhausted after all the work I did in the shop yesterday, so I woke up much later than I usually do. The morning sunlight shines at my face, as I try to block it with my hands, and face away from it to keep it from blinding my eyes.

"ZRIIIIXXX!" Yelled a high-pitched sound that came from downstairs, "GET YOUR LAZY BUTT DOWN HERE AND EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!"

"Comin', Qorr!" I shouted back, as I stand up from my bed, and get my everyday clothes; a cyan tee, furry jacket, baggy pants, and blue sneakers. I grabbed my phone, and opened it. I immediately notice a Notification from my group chat, _Squids 'n Sea_ , from… LyKa915…

I entered my phone's passcode, and looked at the message Kyla just sent.

* * *

 _ **LyKa915**_

 _hey guys_

 _i don't feel well today_

 _headaches_

 _i think i'll have to retire from tw for a day_

* * *

Hrmm, headaches, ehh?

And wait…

I squinted my eyes to the final sentence that she typed in; " _i think i'll have to retire from tw for a day_ "… She has returned from the trip!

Suddenly, a big surge of energy swam through my veins, knowing that Kyla have returned to Inkopolis. With this newfound energy, I burst out of my door, and then I came running downstairs. I saw Qorr, my younger brother, is preparing a sandwich and a pasta in the table.

"Hey bro! Gotta go, Kyla's back!" I said as I immediately grabbed my sandwich and I quickly dashed out of my house, with the annoyed and inaudible screams of my brother echoes behind me.

* * *

I am now at the Inkopolis Train, riding it to the Suburbs as I eat the delicious sandwich my brother just prepared. Every second the train is travelling to the suburbs, the more I get excited. She is back, and I'll have so much fun teasing the shite out of her. But as soon as the train is halfway there, I suddenly remembered when I was in the Battle Lobby, listening and witnessing the event unfold inside it. _Brother of Kyla…_

He suddenly remembered what Sheldon has said to him one time during his shift. _"If she ever comes back here in Inkopolis, do not tell her anything about Kthulhu! Aside from the Duel, that is, but do not tell that it was actually him that is the fought Yudius and his gang, ok? Kthulhu would freak out, and Kyla… I don't know what will happen, just don't tell her about him ok?"_

" _Why though?" I questioned him, a little bit confused "You sound like they haven't seen each other for ages."_

" _That's exactly the reason why, Zrix! They haven't seen each other for like two years!"_

The same thing that Kthulhu told me about her, but this time;

" _Like Sheldon told you, don't mention me to her, especially my cousins, Tara and Sero. I am not ready to face my sister after not seeing her for at least two years. It's best that she doesn't know about it at the moment. Tell them about the Duel, yes, but do not mention it was me who fought against them."_

I am somewhat baffled that the man who fought three Inklings at once would be a wuss when it comes to her sister knowing he is hear. Then again, if I had a sister, and not see her for the same amount of time he hasn't seen his, I would freak out and will have no idea what to do about it. Just the thought of her living without her brother changed her to something either much better or much worse than you could imagine is just a scary.

Hrmm, I would probably tell her about the Duel, but not much details about the one who fought them, probably just gonna tell her he's just a random dude that they challenge. She would totally believe that because she knows what Yudius has been doing. Gotta respect a friend's wish.

Then I heard my train stopped, reaching the station to the Suburbs, my own train thoughts derailed.

As soon as the door is slid open, I finished eating my sandwich, and dashed my out of the crowd of people inside the train, running my way to Kyla's house.

* * *

 _ **A/U –**_ _And that's a wrap! We have advanced to the next day, and we able to see Kyla's moments during her walk around the Suburbs around Inkopolis, and somewhat fleshed out her friendship with Zrix, Kthulhu's friend and a worker on Ammo Knights as a Tester, Repairman, and Tinkerer. On the next chapter, we will continue to see what the newly-made Masquidteers are doing in their second day of Turf, starting off at the same time Kyla has sent her message!_

 _There will be no preview for today, to avoid spoiling the surprise, and have to change up some scenes from the previous story so it can correlate to this one. It's either a minor or major change, but I think it's necessary._

 _And yes, patintero is an actual game in real life, pretty common one too, here in the Philippines. I did not really accurately describe how the game works, but I tried my best to. And also, dunno if that's how being a model works in the fashion business, so tell me in the reviews if I did it somewhat right, or if wrote it incorrectly, I'll try to change it._

 _Anyway, if you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **Development starts –**_ _After Upload_

 _ **Chapter will be uploaded in –**_ _Middle of May_


	5. Promising Reminiscence

_**A/N**_ _–_ _ **To a Guest**_ _: Yes, it is Tagalog, and also written by a native Filipino, too. :D_

 _And I forgot to add something:_

 _ **Lichtenhain**_ _ **–**_ _A country in the Southwest and Lower Middle Continent, and the Splatoon incarnation of_ _ **Germany**_ _, and the home of the Schneider siblings, Verique and Zayden. The country is well-known for the large number of engineers more than any other countries, and is also well-known for its advanced technology that is almost on-par with_ _ **Ryujimizu**_ _'s. Natives, Citizens, and Language are called_ _ **Lichtens,**_ _or_ _ **Lichtans**_.

 _And to add up to the Splatoon-verse Nationalities list:_

 _ **Ryujimizu**_ _– A country in the Northeastern Region, and the Splatoon incarnation of Japan, the home of Ryoko Date, the 1_ _st_ _Elite of the LEF, and the country where Inkopolis has been built. The name came from the name of a sea god/dragon named_ _ **Ryūjin**_ _, and_ _ **–mizu**_ _which literally means "_ _ **water**_ _" Japanese (thanks grandpa google), and it's alternative name is_ _ **Ryujinku**_ _, which replaces_ _ **mizu**_ _with_ _ **inku**_ _instead, which literally means "_ _ **ink**_ _" (again, thanks grandpa google)._ _Natives, Citizens, and Language are called_ _ **Ryujins**_ _,_ _ **Ryujimeze**_ _, or_ _ **Ryujinkans**_ _._

 _That's it, more notes are at the end of the chapter. Now, onto the chapter!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5**_ _– Promising Reminiscence_

* * *

 _SPLASH!_

Kthulhu splatted a balloon that is in the Ammo Knight's testing area. He is testing out a Splat Roller that he tinkered himself. It comes with Seeker and Kraken, a very deadly combo when used properly and correctly. He also adjusted its stats; it's slightly light, and it can paint a much wider area like a Dynamo Roller, but it has the damage of a Carbon Roller. It doesn't have the best offensive capabilities, but it sure is effective taking Turf, and has powerful ambush potential thanks to the Seeker and Kraken combo. Not the best thing he tinkered, but all those two hours he spent making this Splat Roller with this kind of set was worth the shite.

The testing area is now covered with lines, wide ink paths, sploshes, and Kraken Ink Trails. He's been working for at least two hours now, starting in 8:15AM. Yesterday he made a TW schedule with the Masquidteers so in case they have something to do in the morning or in the afternoon, he can arrange it to not conflict with his other schedules.

He just finished testing out his Splat Roller, as he lets it rest on his shoulder as he exits the testing area and back to the Ammo Knights. He stored the Splat Roller at an empty box that is specifically made for the Splat Roller that is labelled _**TSR #9212**_. He made his way back to the dining area, goes to the fridge and takes a pitcher of orange juice, takes a glass for the orange juice, places the pitcher at the table, sits on a chair, pours his glass with the orange juice, and proceeds to take a sip out. It's time to relax, and chill for a while…

Until a horseshoe crab came in randomly with the voice of a tiny Killer Wail…

"Kthulhu!" A tiny voice shouted his name, as he bursts into the room, a big grin on his face, "I have news for you!"

Kthulhu puts down his glass of orange juice down to the table, and looks at the excited crab, "New weapons in the shop?"

"Err, well, yeah, there _are_ new weapons in the shop, but that's not what I meant," Sheldon then approaches him; his smile gets wider with every step, "Its important news that you need to hear!"

"Shoot." He then attempts to gulp down all of the remaining orange juice in his glass.

"Kyla has returned with her cousi-" He didn't even finish saying his news when suddenly, it's Kthulhu's time to shoot, but this time, instead of news, it's his drink that he will shoot out of his mouth. Hearing the name " _Kyla_ " and the word " _return_ " at the same time, he involuntarily spits out his drink at Sheldon, and chokes on his drink, as he tries to get the orange juice that got stuck on his throat.

"UGH! Dammit, Kthulhu!" Sheldon groans in disgust, as he gets himself soaked on Kthulhu's orange juice, "This is just fresh off the laundry, and now it's all orange, geez!" He then runs out of the room to get new clothes.

A second later, Kthulhu managed to spat out all of the excess orange juice that got stuck on his throat. He is breathing a little bit heavily, as his ears caught the first few words Sheldon told him. _Kyla has returned from Karaga? When? Shet, shet, shet, shet, shet, shet, etc._ His mind is full of " _shet_ " going on a loop, as he doesn't know what to do. The " _shet_ " train has been derailed when Sheldon quickly came back in with fresh, work clothes, which is still the same uniform that Kthulhu just spat on. _Whoops…_

"Whoops…" Kthulhu managed to say after all of that. He got replied with Sheldon's eyes narrowing at him in irritation.

"You could've listened to me first before you drink that damn juice!" Sheldon scolded him, "Now I have more clothes to wash!"

"I didn't know that you're news would be about Kyla," Kthulhu retorted, as he takes a sip of his orange juice that has not successfully emptied thanks to Sheldon, "When?"

In a whim, Sheldon's expression turns back to his usual, serious demeanour as he answers Kthulhu's question, "Just a few minutes ago. She's in her house now."

"Who told you?"

"Tarã, one of your cousins."

 _Tarã,_ the last time he saw his adorable cousin was when he was playing games on an old game console in their house, playing Super Splash Bros Melee, and also an ancient game called Super Smash Bros Melee with Kyla, and his two close cousins, Tarã and Sero, the two _de Rodrigo_ siblings. That was a day before he was taken away. At least Kyro let him have fun with them for one last time before he had to be taken away.

"Tarã…" He repeated his cousin's name, with a tinge of nostalgia and sadness on his voice, "She's an adorable cousin when we were little."

"Don't worry; she's still adorable 'till this day!" Sheldon promises, which will make it more difficult for the author to make her adorable in this story. He then sits at a chair next to Kthulhu, before he continues, "Err, sometimes, that is… She's growing up to be a matured women, as she has a team to take care of."

"A team, you say?"

"Yes! It's named _**Rising Tsunami**_!"

"Surprised her team name doesn't consists of puns."

"Not everything has to be a pun, Kthulhu!" Says the crab who can get easily irritated with dumb puns.

"Moving on; do they have plans to play TW at this current time?"

"Hmm, they planned to, except for your sister. She's still at her house, resting," Sheldon's expression turned to worry, making him more anxious, "She has a headache again, and Tarã said that she is getting a series of it ever since they stepped into the train."

 _Headaches?_ His heart drops. He hopes that this is not a series of very painful series of chronic headaches, because that would make him anxious beyond belief, "Any obvious cause of her headaches?"

"According to them, there are none. They don't really know what caused these headaches to attack. They assume it might be overthinking."

"About what?"

"Isn't obvious? Think about _**you**_ and _**Kyro**_ , of course! She's been wondering where you are, how well you are, and many other things! She wanted to search for you, but doesn't have the time to do so, because she missed you! How could one-" He immediately stopped when he noticed Kthulhu is looking down, his hands are clasped into each other, with a downed expression on his face.

His heart warms up when he hears that she misses him, and that she wanted to search for him. That also filled his heart with sadness and guilt; leaving her and his cousins is the worst thing he ever done to his own family. As flurry of emotions swell up in his heart, he remembered what his father said to him that night before he was taken away;

" _I know it hurts. I know you don't want to leave them behind. But my son, there is a reason why we should do this training. It's because of the series of events that you will encounter when you are fourteen. These events will occur to you during your journey of your own life, and you will have to find what these events are yourself. I want you to be prepared it in case you did encounter them._

" _And my son, I hate to say this, but... leaving your sister and your cousins can help them become strong and independent individuals, just like you will be in the next couple of hard years…"_

He hated those words, despite that it came out from his father. But as he progress gaining his strength through Kyro's teachings, and hard trainings that he gave him, he begins to understand Kyro's words, and tolerates it more.

"Hey, no offence, Kthulhu, but I didn't know that the man that defeated Yudius in a one-v-three fight would be a soft and wuss when it comes to his sister."

"That's the struggles of a brother that is older than his sister and his own cousins."

"Then why do you get anxious of them learning that you are at Inkopolis?" Sheldon finally asks the big question, "They would love to see you here, y'know."

Should he really tell him about it? He's about to, but he paused for a few moments to contemplate. He doesn't know if he should, but he thought that Sheldon deserves to know about it, since he is the one that helped them out ever since they first started Turf Warring. Another second has passed, he opened his mouth to speak, "A little recap first; you remember my father told you that I will be taken away for training?"

"Yep, he did," He answered, remembering Kyro's words, "He told me not to tell Kyla, Tarã, and Sero about it, so that they wouldn't try to…" He gulped, as if he was about to say something that would scar Kthulhu for life, "…visit you…"

In which it didn't, "Mhhmm… and Sheldon, I'll be more specific; I'm more anxious about my sister, because…" He paused again, having difficulty to let out the word he is about to say.

"Because of what?"

"… because of a promise that I have made to her, back when I was a little squid…" He finally answered. It was difficult to do it, but he managed to expel it out to Sheldon. He then glances at Sheldon, who looked surprised and confused, not the kind of reaction he is expecting.

"Promise?" He repeated in confusion, "What promise are you talking about, Kthulhu?"

"She haven't told you, huh?"

"Err, more like _never_ _had_ told me."

"It might be because she thinks that this promise is getting too childish for her," Kthulhu's gaze reverts back to the table, feeling guilty as ever, "I guess it's my fault if she thought it that way, now that I think about it…"

"Well, childish or not, tell me about the promise," Sheldon's tone is serious, and he sounded like a good, good friend that is ready to listen to you, no matter what it is.

"You really want to-"

"No need to ask, just say it!" Sheldon interrupted. He is really too eager to know about this promise he made with her.

Kthulhu then stares at Sheldon for a good five seconds in silence. He then lets out a deep breath before he continues, "This promise; I promised her something. It was before I was taken away, and it was a year ago before I was taken away by Kyro…"

* * *

 **Flashback, three years ago…**

* * *

" _Hey big bro, could you promise me one thing?"_

" _Hmm?" Her brother arched an eyebrow, curious._

" _Promise me we would go to Inkopolis together."_

 _Both his eyebrows raised. He didn't expect a promise that big, well at least for him._

" _Why so surprised, big bro?" Asked Kyla, "Not just_ _ **go**_ _together, I wanted you to be with me when we play Turf Wars. I prefer to play with you more than anyone else, as I don't really like to play with strangers for the first time."_

 _Her brother's head looked down, his hand covering his chin, thinking. He is not the kind of squid that can keep promises, but he thinks that this is just a simple promise, since they will soon go to Inkopolis to start their career as Turf War Players, start a squad or a solo record._

 _He made up his mind. He looked up at Kyla, and saw childish hope in her eyes, that not even he can't resist._

" _I promise, Kyla. When I hit fourteen we will be going to Inkopolis-" He didn't have the chance to even finish his sentence when Kyla suddenly lunges forward to him to give him hugs._

" _Thank you, big bro, I will remember that promise."_

 _He silently chuckles as he wraps his arms around her, returning the hug._

" _Don't worry, Kyla," He reassuringly said to her sister, continuing what he is about to say, "I'll take you to Inkopolis with me. Oh, I won't forget our cousins, and when you hit fourteen, I'll make sure I'll take you,_ Tarã _, and Sero on a Turf War match. We will play and win together."_

* * *

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

He told Sheldon about this promise, what, when, where, and how this promise was made. He managed to say all of those without having much difficulty on his part. Sheldon is processing all of what Kthulhu said to him; his fingers of his right hand are on his… round-ish chin, his eyes are closed shut at the moment. This kept going for ten seconds…

Ten seconds passed, Sheldon begins to speak, "Well, I can somehow agree about the promise you two made is quite childish, then again now that I think about it, if you look on a different perspective, you can't really help it, since you two are still quite young. A promise like that one you said can be pretty inevitable at that kind of age."

"You could say that again," Kthulhu leans back at his chair, looking at the ceiling, "Who knew growing up can be so harsh."

"True, true…" Sheldon then looks up at the ceiling, as the peaceful silence takes over the dining area. As the silence goes on, Kthulhu went into deep thought, as he again goes through an assortment of memories of his childhood; fun times playing video games and outdoor games with his sister and his cousins, watching shitty movies that many kids and many casual audiences find somehow funny, scary, romantic, and also good… somehow. And how many hardships they go through; school, learning about themselves, errands that are either frustrating or really repetitive, and other more stuff. They've gone through all of that shite together, and it was all good times for them. Now, he has been separated with them, he started to gain difficulty with a thought; a thought of how much they grew up without him to be there for them. He dreaded the possibilities, and hopes that they are not what he thought they would be now.

The long silence has been finally broken, and his train of thoughts has stopped dead in its tracks when Sheldon asking Kthulhu, "So, what do you do now? Soon, you'll eventually gonna meet them in Inkopolis."

"Hmm," In all honesty, he doesn't know what to do. Besides apologizing for leaving them, that is, but other than that, he has no idea, "Dunno, Sheldon. It's hard for me to think on what I will do when I did encounter them around Inkopolis. It's hard to face someone that thought you have vanished out of thin air and just came back to them either at the perfect or worst time possible after two in a half years."

"That mostly happens around the world."

"This is different though. I'm nervous to see what they've become now."

"Trust me, they are not like the kids you knew when you guys are young."

"I hope so…"

"Now, back to my question; besides apologizing to them, what would do you plan to do when you finally reveal yourself to them?"

 _Here we go again…_ This time, Kthulhu actually puts more effort on thinking about it. _Besides apologizing… besides that and Turf Warri-… wait…_

"You do realize now, huh?" Sheldon looks at him with a smirk, arms crossed.

Kthulhu does realize now. _The promise…_ _If I remember correctly, I made that promise when I was thirteen years old, and Kyla is at the age of eleven. And I did say something else other than taking her to Inkopolis with me when I hit fourteen;_

 _I'll make sure I'll take you, Tarã, and Sero on a Turf War match. We will play and win together."_

That's it; Take them on a good 'ol match of Turf Warring.

"Turf Warring…" Kthulhu muttered, "I did promise her that…"

"Yep, you said it yourself that you would take her and your cousins to a Turf War match!" Sheldon exclaimed excitedly, "So you technically haven't broken your promise, Kthulhu!"

"Technically, I still kinda did."

"Eh, you still have one more promise to take care of, am I right?"

"Hmm… Yeah, there is still that one promise…"

"Now, one more question," Sheldon clears his throat, "When do you think will face them?"

"…" He fell silent again. That usually either means he doesn't want to answer the question or he can't think of an answer to the question. This time is that he has no idea what to answer him, "No idea, Sheldon. Like I said earlier, it's hard to face someone you loved that thought you have vanished out of thin air, and just came back after a cod knows how long you have disappeared."

"And like I said, that always happens."

"And like I said, this is a different case we are talking about."

"And what if they are not like the squid you knew since you were kids?"

"That's a big _if_. And it would depend of what they have become different."

"Then you would have to find out and judge for yourself. Anyway-"

Sheldon was interrupted when a door bell suddenly rings, making both of them shift their gazes to the dining entrance. A feminine voice is heard along with it, "Hello, Sheldon? Are you in here?" At the same time, Kthulhu felt a faint and familiar aura that is resonating through his neuron system.

Sheldon stifled a yelp, and quickly regained his composure, "I'm here! I'm occupied at the moment! I'll be there in a minute!"

"Another customer?" Kthulhu asked.

"Yes, she might be buying some weapons or maybe want some repairs." Sheldon answered, as he gets out of his chair and walks to the entrance of the dining area.

"Ok, while you do that, I'll clean up the table for you."

"Appreciated it. I'll see ya later, Kthulhu." And there he exited the dining area, and went to the counter to meet his customer.

And there he goes; Kthulhu's alone again in the dining area, back in deep thought… His sister, Kyla, has returned to Inkopolis, along with his cousins, Tarã de Rodrigo and Sero de Rodrigo. Honestly, he doesn't know what to feel about the whole thing, when he hasn't seen his family for two in half years. Don't get the wrong idea, he wants to finally see them again, he really do. They are his family after all.

The only hindrance is his heart; the mind wants to see them again, but the heart is stopping him from doing so, because of the anxiety he is feeling for a few days now, and the guilt that weighed heavily feel like he is holding the world up on his shoulders. It hurts him badly when that happens.

He then looks at his almost empty glass of orange juice. He is still thirsty, so he takes the pitcher and pours his glass with orange juice again, and without any interruptions, he gulps down all of the juice in the glass in one go, quickly emptying it. He has some things he has to do with the Masquidteers, so he had to be quick.

He was about to stand up from his chair, until his phone rang up in his pocket. He takes his phone out and reads the messages there.

* * *

 _ **A few minutes earlier, at the Inkopolis Plaza…**_

* * *

"Welcome back, Tarã and Sero!" A slightly brownish Inkling greeted the de Rodrigo Siblings and waves his hands at them as they approach. He has Blue Spikey Tentacle Hair with Light Green tips slicked back that has three rows, three tentacle spike piece each, with Dark Purple Eyes, wears a pair of Tinted Shades, Anchored Layer LS, and Zombie Hi-Horses. He carries a Krak-on Splat Roller by his shoulders.

"Welcome back," Greeted a shy Inkling girl that has her long Blue tentacle hair with Yellow tips tied up. She wears a Tennis Headband, Baseball LS, a short pale blue skirt overlapping her black leggings, and Yellow Seahorses. She carries a Heavy Splatling with both of her hands.

"Hola, Rodhann and Mikaela," Tarã greeted back to her teammates, carrying her Squiffer by her shoulders, "It's good to be back."

"Took ye' long enough to get back, mate," Rodhann spoke in a slightly thick Australian accent, as he lets his other arm rest on his Splat Roller, "Been waiting here for ages! I got bored on fightin' on Normal and Ranked matches all day long, y'know! My OP Roller is itching to fight some noobs!"

"You're just as boastful as we know, Rodh."

"I already told ye', Tarã, I'm not being boastful!" Rodh denies, as he huffs and looks away from the siblings.

"Heheh, hope you don't change."

"I would appreciate if ye' stop calling it being boastful; it's what I call ' _boostin' my self-esteem_ ', mate."

She ignores him as her gaze changes to Mikaela, who is shyly observing Rodhann's behavior, "Ahh, ignore him, Mika. He's just like that, and that's what makes him efficient."

"Being… arrogant?" She said in a low voice, low enough that Rodhann can't hear her say it, "Isn't that… a bad thing, Tarã?"

"Nah, not arrogant, he's being boastful. I know you're new with the team, but once you get to know the dude, you'll see that he has a good side, and he'll protect you with all his life like he does with his friends."

Mikaela glances back at Rodhann, who is having a casual conversation with Tarã's brother, Sero, about who is the best roller, "Are you really sure about that?"

"Yes, I am, trust me. I've known him long enough to know that he'll be loyal to anyone who he considers friends," She then glances to the Inkopolis Tower, standing tall above the Battle Lobby. She is observing the grace of the tower, until someone patted her back, gaining her attention as he glances back to see who patted her back; it's an Inkling with Blue Tentacle Hair with Cyan tips and is a three taller than her. He is wearing Black Arrowbands, Green Check Shirt, and Mawcasins, and a Dual Squelcher is hanging on his Black Cycling Shorts. It was none other than one of her closest friends; _Verique Schneider_ , whom she met when she was just starting Turf Wars with Kyla and her brother along with _Yeran Murchadha_.

"Hallo, Tarã," He greeted in a happy and slightly thick Lichten accent, smiling widely, "'vwelcome back."

This instantly widens her smile, "Verique!" She proceeds to turn to him and hug him by the waist, making his cheeks blush blue. He immediately regained his composure as he returns the hug, "Finally, I'm back in action!"

"Yes, yes, 'ze _Tsunami_ herself is back in action," The two also quickly breaks away from their hug, Tarã's eyes slightly widened along with her smile, noticing Verique's choice of clothing.

"Whoa, Verique, you really look like a nerd now," Tarã commented bluntly, "Did Yeran suggested this clothes or something to make you look like that?"

"Heheh, nah, I picked it myself. And I've embraced my inner nerd-ness."

"Oh really, huh? I'm proud of you, amigo."

"TaaAARIIYAAAAH!" Before they even continue their conversation, a female Inkling suddenly came out of nowhere running to Tarã, and tackled her with a hug. The Inkling has Blue Tentacle Hair with Yellow Tips, wearing a Bobbly Hat, CoroCoro Hoodie, and Yellow Seahorses. She has a Kelp Splat Charger on her back. Both Inklings stumbles, and almost fell to the ground, "You're back, finalleehh!"

"Hahah, yes I am, Yeran!" Tarã returns the surprise hug that came from an ever-so excited Yeran, "You guys haven't changed a bit, still the same 'ol dunces that I know and loved!"

"Oh I see you two have returned," A voice is heard yet again, behind Verique. They turned around, as a male Inkling with pure black eyes, his Orange Tentacle Hair with Yellow Tips that is untied and is touching his shoulders. He wears a Splash Goggles by his neck, Dark Urban Vest, and Blue Moto Boots. He carries a Custom E-Liter 3K Charger somewhat like a soldier, and his hand has a glove that has the Roman Numeral III on it. He has two Inklings that are walking right behind him; one is a tall and buffy Inkling that wearing a set of Power Gear, with the exception of the boots, and Armor Boots Replica takes its place instead, and carries a Hydra Splatling. The other Inkling is a female one that has light pink eyes, Orange Tentacle Hair with Purple Tentacles, wearing a Squidvader Cap, Navy Stripped LS, and Orange Arrows, while carrying an Aerospray PG. A confident expression is plastered on her face.

Tarã's Team, Tarã, and Sero turned to look at the Inklings, in which they immediately recognize; its Yhavin Krauss, the 3rd Elite from the League's Elite Fighters, and one of the most popular and powerful chargers in Inkopolis, and the fourth best in the World League. Tarã is the first to react, as she replies back to him, "Well, ain't it the 3rd Elite himself; Yhavin Krauss."

Yhavin smirks at the sound of his title, as he reply, "Yes, that is me, and the one and only. Nice seeing you here at the Plaza," He then held out his free right hand to Tarã, offering her a handshake, "My teammates are dying to have Sero back in the team."

"Heh," Tarã accepted his offer, and the two leaders exchange a short handshake, before glancing to Sero, who is now between Verique and Yeran, "I bet you felt the same, am I right brother?"

Sero's lips formed a small smile, as he answers, "Yes, you are right," He then walks to the 3rd Elite's side, "Never knew that this will get interesting quickly. Guess I'll be with them for a while, sis."

"Ahh, its fine, don't worry, I have my team here with me. You can go with them."

"If you say so, then."

Yhavin then pats Sero's shoulders, as he approaches Yeran, "Well, I guess we'll be going now. Gotta see if Sero still has his charms on his Roller."

"Don't worry, he still have it." She then winks at her brother, which in turn he timidly averts his gaze away.

"I hope so. And before I go, there are new Chargers at the shop, you might wanna check. Maybe you'll see something that catches your tastes." He then went pass her team, as his own started to follow him to the Battle Lobby, "See ya later, _**Little Tsunami**_. May we meet again at the splattlefield."

 _Little Tsunami_ , A title and nickname that are given by him the first time she teamed up with him, which is a few months ago. He gave her that nickname when she still uses the Aerospray RG, and she somehow landed a perfect Inkstrike placement Yhavin has ever seen, effectively turning the tides to their side and eventually won. Ever since that they became friends, and she is usually pairs with him, Sero, and Kyla. He is also the one who taught her how to use the Chargers, and ever since then, she started to use the Classic Squiffer, and he is responsible for the creation of her team, the _**Rising Tsunami**_ , or can also go by the name _**Tsunamink**_ , consisting of herself, Tarã as the Leader; Verique as the Assassin; Yeran as the Sniper; Rodhann as the Backdoor Roller; and Mikaela as the Suppressor. She is really grateful for meeting him and gave her many advices that she can use in Turf Wars, her career gradually changes thanks to him.

After she watches Yhavin leave with his team, she then glances at her watch; 10:21AM. They still have time. She then turns to her teammates, which are now anticipating her next move. Before she leaves for the moment and run to the Ammo Knights, she speaks with her team, "So, Yhavin said that there are new Chargers delivered in Ammo Knights. Gotta check 'em out."

"Ok, then, we'll wait in 'ze tower for you," Verique replied, as he turns to their Roller, Rodhann, "After all, we have a lot to catch up, don't you agree, Rodh?"

"Yeah, just returned from a glorious Basketball game in my hometown yesterday," Rodh nods in agreement, "So I didn't get a whole lot of new trends here."

"Alright, if it's fine for you guys to wait, then I should be going now. But first, we should have one of us to go and play solo for a while. We have Yeran and Verique here, and we are not full."

"I-I'll go solo," Mikaela shyly volunteers, as she raises her hand up.

"Are you sure, Mika? You know you don't really do well when you are not playing with friends."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I've been going solo ever since I started Turf Warring, and I'm quite accustomed to it now."

"Well, alright. Then, you may go Turf Warring if you want. Maybe we'll meet in the splattlefield."

Mika shyly smiles as she nods and waves her team goodbye and runs inside the battle lobby. Tarã sighs in worry, but knows that she have let her go for a while, because it is true, she has been accustomed to play alone in Turf Wars. She then turns to her team, which are now waiting in their spot, "Ok, you three just stay here. I promise I'll be quick."

The team nodded, and she ran to the Ammo Knights to see what the latest weapons are in store today, leaving her team for a while.

* * *

Tarã entered the shop; the inside is still the same as before, except Sheldon is not at his usual place, and there are no customers. In fact, he is not in the counter. Tarã thought that he may be in the backroom polishing and repairing weapons. Just to be in case that he's in the shop, she called out for him, "Hello, Sheldon? Are you in here?"

"I'm here! I'm occupied at the moment! I'll be there in a minute!" He answers. He's definitely in the backroom. With that, she waited for him to come to the counter and meet her. Eight seconds later, Sheldon came out of the door that is just behind the counter. He still looks the same; big goggles, work outfit that looks like it came from The Great Turf War, and a goofy grin. This goofy grin got wider as soon as Tarã got in his line of sight, "Hello, Tarã! I see you have returned from Karaga."

"Oh, yes, I am, Sheldon, ready for some turf." She then lightly pounds her chest with her free left hand to show that she's pumped for action.

"So, what do you want to buy? Repairs? Weapons?" Sheldon asked.

"Yhavin said you had new Chargers here. May I see them?"

"Of course there are new Chargers here as well, as well as others! Hold on, let me get a recently arrived Charger, give me a sec," He then disappeared to where he first appeared to meet her, assuming he returned to the backroom to get the new weapon. Time flies by, specifically for at least fifteen seconds, Sheldon returns with the Charger that has arrived. The Charger looks like her Classic Squiffer, but with it is color Red-White instead of the original Blue-White, "This is the named the Fresh Squiffer! This is basically your Classic Squiffer, just with a different appearance, and a different loadout that I, myself, made."

Handing over the new Squiffer, Tarã takes it from Sheldon and inspects it, "So, what's the new catch with this type of Squiffer?"

"The Fresh Squiffer has Suction Bomb, as pairing bombs with the Squiffer will make it easier for you and your team to get the upper hand, and time it correctly, you can turn the tides to your side with the Kraken special!"

"Hmm," Tarã inspects the weapon more, "I don't know… this is like the contrast weapon to me and how I play."

"Yes, I know you always play defensive support, but you can still defend teammates with it! Suction Bomb backs enemies off yourself and your teammates, and the Kraken makes them run back to their mommies! So, it's more of an Offensive-Defensive Style Weapon."

"Hrm, ignoring the color scheme, I say it's pretty fresh! How much is this?"

"That costs 7200 gold, Tarã."

"Kinda expensive, but I have enough to buy it," She then takes out a big bag full of gold out of her pocket, "I'll take it to my collection of Squiffers."

Sheldon grabs the bag of gold, "Nice. Thanks for you for the purchase, that weapon can be a perfect return weapon!"

"I hope so, 'cause I'll be kicking squidass with this thing."

"I bet you will. So, anymore things you need before you go?"

"Oh, uhh, yes, I do," With her free hand, she takes her Classic Squiffer that is on her back, and hands it over to Sheldon, "My Squiffer seems busted a bit, because it goes all wonky whenever I fire it. Can you check it for me and repair if you ever found a problem to it?"

"Sure, I'll do it," Sheldon then takes the Classic Squiffer, "I'll take care of it. Come back later in the afternoon to see if it's finished."

"Yeah, I will, thank you, Sheldon," She bows at him in gratitude as she is about exit the Ammo Knights.

"Wait, Tarã," Tarã stops by the Ammo Knights door as soon as Sheldon calls her out. She glances at him, her eyebrow raised, "Welcome back, Tarã. Show them how you kick their asses!"

She nodded with a smirk, definitely ready to kick ass, before she turns away and runs back to her team, and along with them, they disappear to the Battle Lobby.

* * *

 _Phew…_ Sheldon wipes off a sweat on his forehead after Tarã disappeared back to the Battle Lobby for a match of Turf War. He thought that he did a good job on acting natural so that she doesn't find out that her long lost cousin is inside the Ammo Knights Dining area. If she were to ever find out Kthulhu here unprepared… he doesn't wanna think about the possibilities of what will happen, and he dreads of it whenever he does.

With her out of the shop, busy with Turf Wars and stuff, he turns around to get to the door that leads to the backdoor so that he can inspect the weapons that are newly arrived in the shop, particularly the Sheldon's Picks weapon that he modified and designed himself.

Until he saw Kthulhu leaning on the door frame…

Again, he managed to stifle a yelp, scared shitless when a random Kthulhu suddenly just appears, who seemingly watched and listens to the whole conversation that Sheldon and Tarã had. It is also something he despises too, as Zrix always scares him whenever he does his "shortcuts" or whatever they are.

 _I did not do a good job…_

"Geez, you scared me!" He complained as he clutches to his tiny chest. He's not the type of crab that would just shrug off a sudden appearance of someone or something, "Don't freakin' do that!"

"Sorry, Sheldon," He then bows for a second before standing up straight, "I can't help overhearing you two talking…"

"Oh… d-did you hear everything?" Sheldon nervously asks.

"No, only tidbits of it," And then he went silent, as he gazes at the door that his cousin went through to leave the shop. Sheldon, too, went silent as well, as he also followed his gaze and shifts it to the Ammo Knights entrance. Even after all of that, the silence felt somehow peaceful, because Kthulhu felt relieved that Sheldon didn't go through telling Tarã is just a few feet away from Kthulhu, who has been waiting and searching for him for years.

The silence didn't last long, as fifteen seconds has passed; Kthulhu is the first to speak, "She really grew up, huh?"

"Yep, like I told ya'," Sheldon glances at Kthulhu, a smirk is plastered on his face, "Even without you, they can still grow into someone they wanted to be and mature… no offence, Kthulhu."

"None taken," He lets out a sigh of relief, as he stares at Sheldon, "… thanks, Sheldon…"

His smirk only got wider, and gave him a thumbs-up, "No problem, K. I thought that you need to get mentally prepared first before meeting one of your cousins."

"Yeah," Kthulhu couldn't agree more.

"Hey, K, I gotta say something," His facial expression turns into seriousness, "It's important."

"What is it?"

"Do you have plans to play with your team today?"

Kthulhu's head shakes, "No, I'll be Turf Warring with Raei. Yeran and Verique said that they'll be doing some important. If I have to guess, they might be playing with Tarã and Sero, or in short, might be playing with the Rising Tsunami."

"How do you know that they are a part her team? Did they mention it to you or anything like that?"

"So they are huh? And no, they didn't tell me about it, I just suspect that they are a part of the Tarã's team. I heard from Zayd about something about them being a part of another team. Before I clean up the table earlier, I checked my phone because Yeran and Verique sent me a message; they said that they will not be playing with the Masquidteers at the moment, and they have important things to take care of."

"And those important things are playing with the Rising Tsunami for a while!" Sheldon finished, as he puts his fist to his palm of his other tiny hands, "Of course, there's no reason that they will not play Turf Wars with their first team after their leader returns!"

"You got that right."

After that, Sheldon takes a deep breath and exhales it before he continues speaking, "Ok, now, we have to figure out how you will play Turf without your cousins or your sister recognizing you during a match."

"Worse is that I have to play while trying to not be recognized by both Verique and Yeran if we ever battle against each other. They know me a little too well when it comes to Turf Warring…" Kthulhu added, his tone is grim, eyebrows are furrowed together. He can't afford to be recognized by both of his two friends during a Turf Match, or else… he can't think of any possible outcomes to what will happen if they ever did recognize him.

When it comes to be incognito around his cousins, it will be easy, but with his friends? It would be difficult, because they know how well he can do in Turf War, and how he moves in Turf Wars. To add up to the difficulty, if he doesn't want to be recognize, he'll either have to do some other tricks (though that would make them assume that he is Kthulhu), or play normally like how normal players play (he is really accustomed on doing ridiculous stunts and being extreme in battles that playing normally is like making a left hand person write a sentence using his right hand). And they could recognize his seemingly closed eyes, his two piece mustache, one for each side of his lips, and his shoulder length hair.

"Sadly, I can't help you with that problem," Sheldon said, his tone is apologetic tone, "My only advice is you change your gear, something more suitable for your playstyle, and probably for something that your opponents will feel the enigma that surrounds you!"

"I'm thinking about it…" He then glances to the ceiling, thinking.

"I'm sure you'll know what to wear. After all, your sister has a nice fashion sense and maybe you too inherit the same trait!" Kthulhu's not sure about Sheldon's statement, but he hoped that Kyla does have a good fashion sense…

Kthulhu then looks back down, then he fishes out his phone and looks at the time; _8:29AM_. Looks like it's time to go on Turf Warring. He doesn't want to keep Raei waiting.

"I think it's time for me to go…" Kthulhu announced to Sheldon.

"Then I wish you luck going Incognito, Kthulhu!" Sheldon cheers for him, as he walks through the doorway Kthulhu's leaning on, "I know you can do it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be in the back checking the new weapons that just arrived! See you later!" And then, he disappeared to the back room, where all of his weapons are stored.

Looks like Kthulhu's alone again, as he let out a sigh. He knows that this will be tough for him, but he thinks that it'll be necessary to avoid a confrontation of him and his cousins. He's not ready to face them, as guilt will just crawl on his back and it will weigh him down a bit more than necessary.

He decided to stop doing a Verique and go to deep thought in the middle of the doorway that is out of the open, because he doesn't want to get noticed by his cousins and his sister standing there like a creepy idiot. He then goes back to his room, opened the cabinet, revealing the weapons he currently have now, with a new weapon that is now below his vanilla Blaster; the Range Blaster.

He stares at it for a few seconds, before finally grabbing it from the rack, and holsters it behind his back. He then exits the Ammo Knights, using his hat to obscure his eyes, and went on to the shops of Booyah Base to get a good gear to use on hiding his identity for the next few Turf Wars.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_ _– And that's a wrap! This is the end of Chpt. 5 of Reunion, named as the_ _ **Promising Reminiscence**_ _. Now that we got a full glimpse of what the actual promise that the Yun Zhao siblings have made in the past and now Kthulhu got a small glimpse of what has his cousin,_ Tarã _de Rodrigo, has become after two in a half years of his absence, Kthulhu now has to find a way to cover himself and hide his identity to his de Rodrigo cousins that he might battle in Turf Wars and/or Ranked Matches, all while attempting to not let himself get noticed by his own friends, who almost knows how he exactly battles. Will he succeed? We'll find out in the next chapter!_

 _Alright, I'm finished! This somehow took a while, trying to like, ehh, improve the scenes in this chapter. Also, this chapter itself is in the beta version of the Reunion that I've been working on while_ _ **Duel**_ _was still ongoing, and this was supposed to be the_ _ **Chpt. 2**_ _in the Beta. The beta version will be uploaded in this story's bonus chapter._

 _Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 **Previw for the Next Chapter**

* * *

"Ya' sure you're up to this?" Raei asked Kthulhu, who is inspecting his Range Blaster, "If what you said is true, they might not take it easily if they saw you."

"Yeah, don't worry," Kthulhu answered in a reassuring tone, "It may not go well for me, but I can do it. Yeran and Verique is the main problem though, they might recognize me."

"And what if they did?"

"They might inform my cousins about the Duel, including who fought in it… and they might confront me if she suspects that I'm her long-lost cousin…"

* * *

 _ **Development starts - Tomorrow/After upload**_

 _ **Chapter will be uploaded in – Late May**_


	6. Against the Rising Tides Pt 1

_**Chapter 6**_ _ **–**_ _Against the Rising Tides Pt. 1 (The Calm before the Storm)_

* * *

The first shop he visits is the Jelly Fresh, where Jelonzo, the owner of the shop, sells the hottest trends of clothes, like Tees, Hoodies, and many more you could think of. He was thinking of buying a Hoodie so that he could hide his face so that no one would notice his closed eyes. He entered the shop, and he saw a rather minimal number of customers that are browsing through the clothes in the shop. He was then greeted by the owner.

"Jelly Fresh! Welcoming to the Shop, Kthulhu!" His Inkling is rather broken, since he is a jellyfish and it is difficult to learn it naturally, "What peeking your interest?"

He then looks around the racks to see a Hoodie that he likes. While looking around, he saw a familiar male Inkling that has a black complexion, with Purple-Blue Tentacle Hair, and Dark Violet-Red Eyes. He wears a Takoroka Visor, School Jersey, and White Arrows. He has a long scar that is passing his nose bridge.

"Eiy, K, 'sup dude," Raei greeted Kthulhu, as he waves at him.

"Yo. Didn't expect that you'll be here," Kthulhu said as he approaches his friend, "I thought you're waiting at the Tower."

"Nah, just got out of the tower after a few Ranked Matches, most of them didn't go too well."

"That's rough, buddy."

"Really rough, true… So bud, you got Yeran and Verique's message?" Raei changes the topic as he adjusts where his body is facing to Kthulhu.

"Yeah, seems they'll be playing with the Rising Tsunami."

Raei lets out a sigh, "Yeah, their back in the city, ready to wreck some asses in Turf Wars and Ranked apparently."

"Then it will be bad for me." He then walks to the rack that Raei has been searching through.

"What do you mean?" Raei stares Kthulhu sceptically and confused.

"I'll tell you later, right now I'll buy a hoodie…" Kthulhu, after a few moments, he finally found a hoodie that he chooses; a Zekko Hoodie. He then walks to the owner of the shop and asks, "Do you have any bigger size for this hoodie? Larger than my size, if there's one here."

"Yes, Kthulhu! Let me do the getting!" Jelonzo then goes to the back of his shop to find a much larger size for the Zekko Hoodie. While Kthulhu waits, Raei gets the opportunity to ask something that he had in his mind a few minutes ago that has been bugging him.

"Hey, K, what do you mean by what you've said earlier?" He asks, an eyebrow rose in worry, "It's unlike you to say anything like that. Is there something wrong?"

Kthulhu stared at his Iberian friend, whose worry and confusion covers his expression. Kthulhu doesn't really know if now is the right time to tell him about his predicament right now. Then again, now that he thinks about it, he could just stay at Ammo Knights, tinkering and test weapons all day. And _**then again**_ , his friends will be suspicious of him of why he doesn't play even a single Turf War match during the whole morning, and he probably won't survive a whole morning without playing around ten to twenty matches of Turf War either solo or with the Masquidteers, and around ten to fifteen matches in Ranked.

After a moment of thinking, he decided to tell him now, as he may help him with his predicament, and even if he didn't tell it now, he'll eventually know, but the sooner that he tells him about it, the less the chance that his trust will crumble away like dust. He then opens his mouth to speak, "Let me recap for a bit; you know that Kyla's my sister, right?"

Raei nodded, "Yeah? I've been friends with her through Ryoko. So that means you're also cousins with Tarã and Serõ?"

"Uh-huh."

"So, uhh… what about them? Had a familial grudge with them or something?"

"No. It's more like…" He paused, thinking what could be a fitting word, "…I haven't seen them in a while."

This confuses Raei even more, as he furrows his eyebrows, "That could mean a lot of things, Kthulhu. So, for how long you haven't seen them?"

"Two and a half years." With no hesitation in his voice, he immediately answers.

…

… _Awkward Silence…_

A silence later, Raei's eyes pops out comically in shock, like those that you see in anime when someone witnessed something shocking and their eyes pop out in the most hilarious ways possible, "QUE?! Two and a half years!? Geez, that's not 'a while', it's more 'a long time!' Is it really that long?"

"According to my sense of time, yeah, I haven't seen them for that long."

His eyes have gone back to its normal places, and his expression changed to worry, "Oh meu Deus, sheesh, what happened, dude? You got away from home and go abroad somewhere?" Worry takes over his tone quickly after he revealed the reason behind his anxiety towards meeting Kyla and the de Rodrigo Siblings, "Something definitely happened to you, man, and I got to know so that I may help ya'."

"…" He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to talk about it as he looks down on the floor, expression is somewhat… regretful. Raei can't tell much about his facial expression thanks to him having so much limited facial expressions, but somehow, he can unknowingly read a person, and he somehow read Kthulhu rather well in this scenario.

Raei notices Kthulhu's facial expressions, and his grew worried even more, "Something tells me that your face indicates that you've been through shite," Yeah, he did; he have gone through so many tough times before he even starts his Turf War Career, "Come on, man, tell me about it and let me help."

Kthulhu looks back at Raei, whose expression is now mixed with worry, seriousness, and open-minded, ready to listen to him whatever he is gonna say. _Should I really tell him…?_ He doesn't want too many people to know about him. Then again, he would feel bad if he has to keep it a secret to a friend that just wants to understand and help him. Then a thought of Ryoko came in to his mind; he is her disciple, and she is teaching him her ways, like Kyro did to her. _I guess deserves to know…_

With that, he let out a sigh, and he said to Raei, "Alright, I'll tell you about it, but I won't tell it here. After I finished shopping for gear, I'll invite you in to where I sleep in. Is it alright with you?"

The black squid nodded, "Certo, K."

A moment later, Jelonzo returned with a folded and a much larger Zekko Hoodie, "Here's the larger hoodie. Now you want buying?" he then hands him over the Zekko Hoodie. Kthulhu takes it from the jellyfish owner, unfolds it, and measures it by taking both sleeve cuffs, and spreads it like how an eagle spread its wings. It's certainly a little bigger than his size. He folds it back, and hands it back to Jelonzo, "It's big enough. I'll buy it." After Jelonzo takes the Zekko Hoodie, he takes out a bag of coins that is enough to buy the large Zekko Hoodie.

"Always a great thanks, Kthulhu!" Jelonzo said, "I'll do the stuffing in to bag, and you do the waiting," He then goes behind the counter and grabs a shopping bag, and puts the large hoodie into it. He then hands it over to Kthulhu, in which he immediately grabs it from him.

Now that he bought a hoodie, it's time for him to leave the store with Raei and go to another shop, "Alright, Raei. I'll buy two more gear before I tell you. So can you please wait for me in the entrance of the Ammo Knights? Don't worry, I won't take long…"

Raei furrowed his eyebrows, and lets out a big sigh, and muttered, "Geez, this guy is just like his sister…" He then shook his head as he looks back at Kthulhu, "Sure, I'll be waiting there…"

"Thanks," He then proceeds to leave the shop, "I'll see ya' in a minute."

* * *

He has all his needs now… hope this works…

Kthulhu went through all of the remaining shops in the Booyah Base, excluding Ammo knights of course. After he left Jelly Fresh, he proceeds to enter the shoe shop, Shrimp Kicks, where he takes a little bit more time than he had in Jelly Fresh, because he is thinking of what would be the best to fit for his Zekko Hoodie. He finally found one after a minute, and he chose the Gold Hi-Horses for it. After he buys that, he went to the final shop, Cooler Heads, to buy a mask, bandana, or a hat that is not like his current hat, the Safari Hat. After another full minute, he takes the Skull Bandana home, and also bought Fake Contacts to prevent his two eyes from glowing. He doesn't know how that worked, but he decided not to question logic when he already broke it the last few chapters of the Duel.

Now that he bought all of the gear from head to toe, he decided to walk back to the Ammo Knights, where Raei is waiting for him at the entrance. When he arrived, Raei is leaning beside the door frame of the shop, waiting for Kthulhu to arrive, and a pair of female Inklings came out of the shop with an E-Liter Charger, carrying it by the shoulder, while the other carries a Splash-o-Matic. They both walk away and disappeared to the Inkopolis Tower.

He approaches at the waiting Raei. Raei immediately notices Kthulhu walking to him, and he stands straight, "Took you long enough, lad."

"Don't worry, I'm not late"

"Yeah, now how about we get inside," Raei offered as he lets Kthulhu get in first.

"This is where you sleep?" Raei asks, really dumbfounded, "One of Sheldon's freakin' basement?"

"It's as manageable as it can get, Raei," Kthulhu reasoned as he puts everything that he carried throughout his shopping spree, "Besides, I won't be here for long. Once that I have met up and reconcile with my sister, I may live in her house for the rest of my time here in Inkopolis."

"This is a rather small dump of a basement home if I say so myself," Raei commented, as he looks around the basement bedroom, "I didn't he accepted you in to stay here. What special treatment are you getting?"

"None."

"Wait, what? None, as in, no special treatment at all?"

"Nope, none of that BS, well except for some special recognition that I've been receiving from Sheldon."

This piqued Raei's interest, "Special recognition?"

"Yes, and this is about what I will tell you," He then sat down on his bed, "Now if you may, how about you grab the chair in the workbench over there and have a seat. It's story time."

Raei glances at the chair Kthulhu is pointing at, which is to Kthulhu's right and is stationed at the workbench. He grabbed it and dragged it beside the bed, and sat on it, "So about the thing you are about to tell me?"

Kthulhu lets out a sigh, and puts up his left foot on his bed, and looks at Raei before he started to speak, "Well, as for the story, I wanted to ask you something first."

"Ask away."

"Did Ryoko tell you about her former master before she took you under her wing?"

"Well, uhm…" He looks up a little, thinking, "Well, she did mention that she had a master before she even became an Elite Fighter. No idea who they are, though, but I reckon that they are holy shet strong."

"You could say that again."

Raei glances back at Kthulhu, an eyebrow rose up, "You seem to know her master well."

"In fact, I do."

"Really?" Raei's eyes widened a little in surprise and curiosity, both eyebrows rose, "So, that's maybe the reason why Ryoko seem to be very eager when she first met you back at the Battle Lobby, and even inside the HQ, you two get along pretty well even you guys met just like a few minutes ago."

 _This guy's quite observant…_ "Yeah, she's a cool dragon."

"You bet she is! That's my master for ya'!" He chuckles with pride of his master. He takes some of Ryoko's traits for being her disciple, "So, anyway, what do you know of her old master? If Ryoko will be my master, I have to know who have taught her the lessons she's been giving ever since she took me in."

"I… don't actually know much about how her master taught her. I only know _him_ personally, but not about his life as Ryoko's master."

"So Ryoko's master's a man, ok. So, what about him?"

"Well, he's the reason why I haven't seen my sister and my cousins for at least two and a half years."

He went silent for a moment and his tilted to the right a little, "What?"

"Yes, you hear me; he's the one reason, because he took me away from them. My father took me away from them."

…

… _Agaaaiiin, aawwkwa-_ "WHAAAT!? – _ardd_ , well that just broke the damn word into two, "Ryoko's former master is your father?! And what do you mean he took you away from them?! He kidnapped you or some-" Before he could even continue, he was slapped by Kthulhu to calm him down, making a loud _**SMACK!**_ sound that echoes throughout the basement, almost made him fall of from his chair. He needs to get his shite together, hot dammit.

"Stop assuming things, I'm not done yet," Kthulhu scolded at him, as he brushes both of his palms to each other, "It's unlikely of you to jump into conclusions in a quick succession like that."

"Oww, that was unnecessary," Raei rubs his cheeks that Kthulhu slapped on. That definitely hurt, "I'm sorry, ok?! Context, Kthulhu, what you say sound like you meant something else, like, your father took you away from your sister and your cousins, or maybe your family. Misunderstanding can be a deadly thing no matter how bad it is."

"I know that, Raei. It's you who just yelled at the damn basement so loudly we might get heard outside. We don't need to drag any unnecessary attention down here, so keep your voice down."

"Err, sorry about that… Continue on; why did your father take you away?" Raei then changed the topic for the sake of time.

"Kyro took me away so that he could train me," Kthulhu continued, "Train me for the future, he says. He was pretty insistent about it, so I was forced to comply with him and leave before dawn."

"Train? Damn, you've been forced into training for at least two and a half years?" Raei asks, his hands are clasped onto each other, "So you are forced to train when you're still twelve years old, right?"

"No, I was thirteen at that time, and I already got my control of both of my squid and Inkling form a few days before I even hit fourteen."

"Whoo, that's quite the early age to get full control over it. Anyway, that means, you left rather suddenly?"

"Yeah," He then gets a flashback of his father, when they were about to leave, his facial expression is serious, grim, anxious, and reluctance. He looked like he predicted an attack that he know he can't win, but was forced to fight; a thing that has unfortunately happened to Kyro two years later after he left, "He was in a hurry that day, and because of that, we never had the time to say goodbye to them, not even to my mother, not even to my cousins, not even to my sister…"

A gloomy atmosphere took over the basement, an atmosphere that he has been feeling after his father died during that day that he got assassinated, and still felt it ever since he got here in Inkopolis. Raei was shocked of what he had heard, "You left… without them knowing where you have been for two and a half years?"

He could only nod in confirmation, making Raei cuss in Iberian, "Bom graciaso, lad. That might explains why Kyla looked sad most of time; she thought you disappeared and went missing. She never mentioned anything about you; even the de Rodrigo siblings never did mention anything about you." This made him feel even guiltier than he could possibly imagine now. _Screw you, Raei and Sheldon…_

"Maybe they just wanted to keep the pain within themselves. Then again, now that I think about it, that's a very pessimistic way of saying it."

"Ermm, that sounded a little… dark… Do you have any more to tell me about it?"

 _That's not a question you would normally hear when someone tells a story about their past,_ Kthulhu thought, as he blankly stares at him for asking. Although, that proves that he is quite interested hearing it.

"Ohh, uhh, er, s-sorry," Raei apologizes, realizing what he just said, "That's a stupid questi-"

"Nah… I think I have more things that I can tell…"

* * *

 _ **Fifteen minutes and twenty nine seconds later…**_

* * *

After Raei left and started to wait again by the entrance of Ammo Knights, Kthulhu started to wear the gear he has bought earlier in the shops in Booyah Base; he takes off his hat and places it back at the hat stand, he takes off his Red Check Shirt and throws to the bed, and then he takes off his Red Work Boots. After that, he takes out the Zekko Hoodie that still in his shopping bag, and wears it. It's just as large as he thought, and when he puts on his hood, it is big enough to obscure his entire face with shadows. He then pulls back his hood and takes the Skull Bandana, and wears it on his bottom area of his face, covering his nose, mouth, and his cheeks. He puts it on the hood again, and he became completely unrecognizable.

After that, he sat on the bed and opens the shoebox, in which it contains the Gold Hi-Horses he bought in Shrimp Kicks. He grabs it from the shoebox and puts it onto his two feet. Now there's only one more thing before he go outside; wear the Fake Contacts that he also bought in Cooler Heads. He fishes out two Fake Contacts that are stacked to each other, and puts it on to his glowing eyes. It took a while to put it on, but when he did, he checked himself in his phone, his glowing red eyes are now much more faint and dim, making it harder to see. He puts his hoodie on; his still glows a bit, but not as much as it did during the Duel. He eventually pulls it back, and decides to keep his eyes open for a few hours.

 _Alright, I'm done…_ Kthulhu has finished preparing himself on going incognito. He's pretty that he is unrecognizable by the way he looks now, unless a friend of his notice how he moves and plays, that is. _This should work out for today,_ He could only hope for it.

He decided not to keep Raei waiting, as he takes his Range Blaster from his bed and makes his way to the exit, where he meets his black squid friend waiting with his Inkbrush Nouveau on his back. He quickly notices his change of clothing, and smirked at the sight, "Would you look at that? You look freshly enigmatic with that gear you have." And then he noticed Kthulhu's opened eyes, "Ohh, look at them eyes. You really look like Jhay with those eyes opened."

"Am I?" He takes out his phone, and used it again as a mirror and looks at his eyes. Well, he does look like Jhay, somewhat. He puts it back on his pocket after a few moments, "Hmm, looks like it. I'll close it later."

"So, ya' sure you're up to this?" Raei asked Kthulhu, "If what you said is true, they might not take it easily if they saw you."

"Yeah, don't worry," Kthulhu answered in a reassuring tone, "It may not go well for me, but I can do it. Yeran and Verique is the main problem though, they might recognize me."

"They might, but don't worry about them. If they get too occupied into something, they won't pay attention to anyone's looks much and focuses on their main objective."

"Hope you're right."

"Alright then, let's kick some asses, shall we, K?" Raei offered, as he takes his Inkbrush Nouveau off his back and holds it by the shoulders, with a confident smirk, "You have changed your name of your account?"

Kthulhu nodded as he puts on his hood, before replying, "Yeah, let's get going." And there, Raei and Kthulhu went inside the Battle Lobby, with Kthulhu going incognito under the guise ' _ **Zhed**_ ', as they started a big duo winning streak.

* * *

 _ **An hour of Turf and Ranked Matches Later...**_

* * *

Kthulhu and Raei is now teleported to Ancho-V Games, a game studio that created many arcade games that is popular to the inhabitants of Inkopolis. They are on Orange Team, and they'll be fighting the Blue will be the last game the two will play before they rest for lunch.

"Welp, here we are, Ancho-V," Raei said as he looks at the battlefield, "Let's see who's our teammate..."

Kthulhu and Raei glances back to see their teammates: Beside Kthulhu is a female Inkling with Orange Tentacle Hair and Pink tips, and has Gray Eyes. She wears Designers Headphones hanging by her neck, Purple Camo LS, and Turquoise Kicks. She is carrying an E-Liter 3K Scope. She may or may not be the same E-Liter girl that he just saw an hour ago in Ammo Knights… who knows…

The other Inkling that is adjacent to Kthulhu is slightly tan-skinned female Inkling has long Orange Tentacle Hair with Yellow Tips that is tied up in a sporty like fashion, and has Amber Eyes. She wears a Tennis Headband, Baseball LS, and Yellow Seahorses, and carries a Heavy Splatling with both of her hands. Raei seems to recognize her.

"Mikaela?" Raei said as he seems to call out the name of the Inkling. Mikaela's eyes widened, who seem to recognize him as well.

"Raei?" She says his name in a shy Malaccan accent, "I didn't expect that you would be my teammate."

"So do I, Mika," He then reaches out for a handshake, in which she shyly accepts, "Surprised to see you play by yourself at this time."

She then lets go of his hand before replying, "W-well, I have to, because the team's number has already reached its limit, so I volunteer to go by myself for now."

"Yeah, Yeran and Verique might've taken the spot for members. Are you sure you're really fine playing by yourself?"

"Don't worry, I'm ok. I've already played many games alone in the past, and I've grown accustomed to it."

"If you say so, then," Raei glances at Kthulhu, "Anyway, K, I wanted you to meet Mikaela H. Rascolov, she is a member of the _Rising Tsunami_ from Malacca," He then glances back at Mika, "Mika, his name's Kthulhu, a good friend of mine and the captain of my team."

"Hi," Kthulhu offers a handshake to Mika.

Her eyes once again widens at the sound of Kthulhu's name, "Kthulhu? As in, _Kthulhu_ from the Duel?"

"Yeah, that's me," Kthulhu answers as he slightly slids his hoodie backwards with his free right hand, revealing his closed eyes to her before he pulls it back up again, completely obscuring his eyes.

"Oh my, it is you! I-It's nice to meet you, Sir Kthulhu!" She then accepts his offer and she shook his hand briefly before letting go, "I'm honored to be your teammate."

"Yeah, it is a pleasure too, to play with a member of the Rising Tsunami, and Kthulhu or is just fine. I'm not some sort of knight or anything."

"If that's what you want, then fine by me."

Before the two continue their conversation, they suddenly heard a snicker from Raei, and they immediately glances at him, "K, looks like you broke someone." He then pointed at the Charger girl, and they glance at her, seeing a comically shocked face plaster across her face.

"Y-yo-your K-Kthulhu?" She stuttered as she speaks, visibly trembling. Kthulhu can only nod at the trembling girl. Then suddenly, she hands over her own Charger to Kthulhu, and said, "P-please sign my Ch-charger! I'm very big fan of you!"

He could feel a sweat drop from his left temple. This is somehow the first time he ever meets a fan that is his teammate ever since he and his other friends formed the Masquidteers.

"Ermm, I don't have a pen," He sadly said. He then felt someone tapping him by the his shoulders. He glances at Raei, who is handing over a marker for him.

"Came prepared, Cap'n," He remarked as he hands over his pen, "Now you have one."

 _Welp ain't that convenient..._ He then takes Raei's marker, glances back at his fan, and proceeds to uncap the marker, "So, where do you want me to sign your Charger?"

"O-over here," She pointed at the big ink bottle that is connected beside the trigger. He proceeds to sign it by writing his signature with simple, yet elegant handwriting of his name. After that, she practically jumped in joy with a big smile on her face, and hugs her E-Liter, "Thank you so much, Kthulhu!"

"You're welcome, mate," As she gets herself occupied hugging her E-Liter, he glances back at Mika and Raei, a smile is formed on Mika's lips, and Raei has his back facing as he checks his phone.

"You're so nice, Kthulhu," Mika complimented Kthulhu.

Kthulhu didn't reply immediately, as he looks away from Mika, scratching him the back of his hoodie, "It's nothing. It's a natural thing to do."

"What I said still stands though."

"Then I'll let it stand on its own."

"Uhh, guys?" Raei called out for his teammates, making them glance at him curiously. He then turns to them to face his teammates, a serious and grim expression on his face, "You guys better look at this."

He then shows his phone to his teammates, and they take a closer to it. A few seconds later, Kthulhu immediately paled at the sight, Mika eyes widened a little, and the fan seems to be unfazed.

In the phone, it is showed:

* * *

 _ **Blue Team**_ _ **:**_

 _ **Tarã || A || Fresh Squiffer || Squid Hair Clip || Rockenberg Black Tee ||**_

 _ **Verique || B- || Dual Squelcher || Black Arrowbands || Green Check Shirt || Mawcasins**_

 _ **Yeran || B+ || Kelp Splat Charger || Bobble Hat || CoroCoro Hoodie || Yellow Seahorses**_

 _ **Rodhann || B || Krak-On Splat Rolled || Tinted Shades || Anchored Layer LS || Zombie Hi-Horses**_

* * *

"As I feared, looks like we will be fighting the Rising Tsunami," Raei announces to his team members in a grim and serious manner, "This is gonna be hell."

"Oh my," Mika said as she glances to the Charger, who is also doing the same as she also glances to her with a worried expression. Raei's _**raei**_ ght, this gonna be one hell of a fight. Tarã and the Rising Tsunami specialises in defensive tactics, and can keep anyone at bay for long, long enough for Rodhann to sneak past his enemies fighting Tarã and the others, and paint their turf with his roller. Mikaela and Raei knows them well enough to fear their Turf War prowess.

While they worry about their fight with the Rising Tsunami, Kthulhu is in the corner pale and sulking, facing away from the group, "Dammit... talk about bad timing..." His tone is covered in distress, which uncharacteristic of him, and a contrast to his cool and collected personality. you tend to break character when you're about to fight your cousin who thought you have gone missing for a long time in a friendly game of Turf War, apparently.

"Geez, someone's sulking," Raei pointed out as he feel a sweat trickling in his left temple, which shifts the gaze of the other members to Kthulhu. They have never seen this side of Kthulhu sulking in the corner in distress.

"What's with him, Raei?" Mika worriedly asks him, "This is not very usual of him, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's not usual for him to look this anxious," Raei scratches his head, "But let's just say it's understandable... can I say it to them, K?"

Kthulhu didn't answer, but he weakly gave him a thumbs up without turning around or breaking his gaze, giving permission to tell them. "If you say so then..." Raei then started to tell them the reason of Kthulhu's concerns; about him being Tarã's cousin, and how long they haven't seen each other,, but leaves out about his training before he started Turf Warring, Kyro taking him away from his family, and any other private information Raei deems unnecessary to tell. Instead, he makes a somewhat believable story that Kthulhu went abroad to Yangtze to learn its culture and language. Halfway, Kthulhu slowly started to recover from sulking and he eventually turns back to his team.

His team members started to process all of this information from Raei. Mika is the first to speak about Kthulhu's predicament, "That's one heck of a situation you're in right now, indeed."

"Yeah, it is," Kthulhu agreed, as turn his gaze to the direction of their opponent team's spawn point, "Now you hear my struggles as of now, please, don't tell this to anyone else, unless I told you to. I don't want and don't need too many people to know about this."

The E-Liter Sniper and Mika glances at each other, before glancing back to Kthulhu, with the E-Liter Sniper promising, "Alright, it's a promise, then."

"We'll make sure that we'll keep it to ourselves," Mika also vows to keep it a secret. With that, Kthulhu glances back at the girls, and beneath his Skull Mask, as small smile formed on his lips, "Thanks."

"No probs, bro!" The E-Liter lightly chuckles, "You're secret safe with us!"

Kthulhu nodded, as an automated voice speaks through the speakers of the stage, " _ **Turf War starts in one minute and thirty seconds.**_ "

"Well, at least the author and his lads are kind enough to let us have a few minutes to talk about it, gotta thank them for that," Raei remarked. No problem, Raei, since it is for the plot purposes. *thumbs up*

The E-Liter and Mika stared at him, confused of what he meant. They then looked at Kthulhu, "Ehh, what is he...?"

"Don't worry about it," Kthulhu answered instead, saving Raei from any further embarrassment for breaking the 4th wall, _freakin'_ _ **again**_. This joke is getting old and please don't make us pay for the repairs of this damn wall. Once is enough, and that's it. Nice save though, K, "Let's just focus on battling against the Tsunami."

"Yeah," Raei agreed and nodded as he glances at Mika, "Mika, how about you tell K here how the Rising Tsunami play."

"Ok, so the RT's playstyle is more on defensive and less on offensive, and they are pretty good at it with Tarã at their side. They capture an area, it will be nigh impossible to capture it by normal means."

Deja vu hits Kthulhu hard when he remembered his first match with Anthur, except it's the other way around...

"Tarã is an expert on defending their turf, and will usually keep their opponents at bay, making them struggle on taking it, especially with Yeran on her side."

"Great, two snipers..." Kthulhu sarcastically remarked, "Looks like we have more problems to deal with other than having my identity be revealed to my opponents."

"And also, even if we manage to break Tarã's defence, we would lose half percentage of our taken turf because of Rodhann and/or Verique, they will usually go backdooring if all us focus on breaking the Tarã and Yeran combo."

Raei nodded, "Yeah, the two are a nasty combo, and add it to Verique's stealth, they can splat a whole team like a knife cutting through butter."

While the others talk about strategy, Kthulhu takes out his phone, opens the map of Ancho-V Games, and observes the stage with his closed eyes. If he were ever to defeat the Rising Tsunami, no reason to charge in recklessly without any solid plan in mind, and he has to plan out something that could go against the tides.

The Ancho-V Games doesn't have that number of shortcuts to the field, and definitely has quite a number of vantage points that just at the center, with the only hindrance are the board that showcases that shows black-n-white drawings that Inklings draw in SplatNet. (most of the drawings are either wonderful, appropriate, shite, or just plain stupid) But if one member manages sneak their through their front lines, they'll have a big chance to take their turf and forces them to retreat. If the one that backdoors is either Verique or Rodhann, the Orange team's sniper will have a chance against them unless they go together, which is unlikely, but if its either Yeran or Tarã that backdoors, the E-Liter might not have a chance unless she knows what she's doing and can use her range superiority against both snipers.

If Mikaela said is true, then this would be a tough match; Defensive Squads are the most hardest types of squads to battle against, and by the looks of the kit himself and his team has, it's more well-rounded, neither has an upside or a downside. The weakness of a Defensive Squad is they won't get as much turf, and will likely to lose if they are pushed far back to their base, but this is Rising Tsunami Kthulhu is thinking about, and they have Verique, who is quite an assassin, and Rodhann as their backdoor pirate. They can take turf without much interruption unless there's someone else in the backlines.

 _Hrmm, takte, this is a little difficult than I originally thought it would be,_ Kthulhu thought as he thinks of other options and strategy that he could possibly think of. Unfortunately, there's not much he can think of, because this is the first time he'll fight against Tarã and the Rising Tsunami, he has very little knowledge about them, with the exception of Yeran and Verique, but that won't help either when they are on the other team that they've been in for a long time. Looks like they'll be in for a shite show this match.

Better be prepared, before they get caught by the big waves of the tsunami from the other side.

* * *

 _ **Earlier...**_

* * *

"Alright! Hope we get lunch after this match's win!" Rodhann yelled as he stretches and prepares his trusty Krak-on Roller. He never had been this excited in his whole life before.

"Yeah, we need that excitement for our final match before we buy ourselves lunch," Tarã said as she observes today's stage, Ancho-V Games Studio. It's not Tarã favourite map, buy it has some sweet vantage points, "Alright, team, looks like our stage will the game studio again. Verique, who's our opponents?"

"Let's see," Verique looks at his phone and looks at their opponents:

* * *

 _ **Orange Team**_ _ **:**_

 _ **Trix || C+ || E-Liter 3k || Designer Headphones || Purple Camo LS || Turquoise Kicks**_

 _ **Mikaela || C || Heavy Splatling || Tennis Headband || Baseball LS || Yellow Seahorses**_

 _ **Raei || A || Inkbrush Nouveau || Takoroka Visor || School Jersey || White Arrow**_

 _ **Zhed || B+ || Custom Range Blaster || Skull Bandana || Zekko Hoodie || Gold Hi-Horses**_

* * *

"I thought ve'll be fighting my brother for a second there," Verique muttered in relief. They don't want to fight him with Raei in his team, or they'll be sinking in to the deep, salty seas right now, "Tarã, we have some familiar faces that we'll battle against."

"Oh, really?" This piqued Tarã interest, as she glances to Verique, "Who will it be?"

"You guys take a look," He the showed his phone to his teammates. They take a closer look at it, "We'll be fighting Raei and Mika."

"Ohh, that freakin' traitor!" Yeran sarcastically remarked, "And oh cod, they have Raei in their team!"

"Hrmm, this should be good," Rodhann said as a smirk formed on his lips, "Better, Raei's using an Inkbrush! It'll be easy for me to splat his face with my roller."

"Careful what you're saying, Rodh. And maybe a few seconds later he'll be poking your face with the Inkbrush."

"I'll show you that I can beat him with my Krak-On Roller!"

"Keep dreaming, bud."

Tarã inspects her opponents; E-Liter, Inkbrush Nouveau, Heavy Splatling, and Custom Range Blaster. Well-rounded, but she doubt those kit will be enough to break through the defense duo or maybe even beat the Rising Tsunami. Then again, there's Raei in their team, and an E-Liter is in it too. She has to try stopping herself from underestimating someone, or karma will get to her in a flash.

She is ranking the threat level of each opponent from lowest to highest.

The lowest threat may be _**Zhed**_ ; they won't be a problem to Verique, Yeran and Tarã, as Zhed will be outranged by the said Inklings. She doesn't know about Rodhann, though, they might have a chance against him.

Moving on, the next one in the threat level scale may be _**Mikaela**_ ; the rest of the Rising Tsunami knows how she plays, and she's not the most dangerous when fought against, unless she's with Tarã's team. Still, they had to stay cautious of her.

The next one _will_ be _**Trix**_ ; they will impose a challenge to the Rising Tsunami, as when they find a vantage spot in the stage, they can detect those who try to sneak past behind the frontlines. And they basically outrange both Tarã and Yeran with the E-Liter, so she can be first thing to worry about when they do their strategy.

The highest threat level will be _**Raei**_ ; he may be an Inkbrusher, but he is a disciple of Ryoko Date, the 1st Elite in the LEF, and he's pretty freaking strong and quick even snipers had a hard time hitting him, and he's rather skilled with the any Inkbrush, and even with the Rollers. If he gets close, he can splat even the likes of Rodhann in a few swipes of the brush.

Now that she thought about it, they might be a challenging team to fight against. But as long as the Rising Tsunami sticks with the plan, the tides may just wash their opponents away with ease. This team Turf War is getting interesting by the hour, and she enjoys it so far, and she's not gonna lose this one.

"So, what do you think?" Asked Verique to his captain, "Do you think 'ze odds are in our favor?"

"Not so sure," She answered, "They have Raei in there side. He's pretty freakin' strong even if he's using an Inkbrush."

"Yeah, he can be a nightmare to fight against," Verique grimaces at the thought, "Alright, ve'll be cautious 'vhen 'vwe sneak around."

Tarã nodded in agreement, as she looks back at the direction of the opponent spawn point, "Alright, same plan, guys, but be more cautious and focus. They have Raei and Mikaela , and we have two unknown players on the other team, and we have no idea who are we up against. Be careful of them."

"Yeah," Yeran, Verique, and Rodhann said in unison. Hoo boy, they are not ready for whom they are facing against...

* * *

 _Wonder if Mikaela can think of such strategy since she'll be facing off against her own team._ He then glances back to his team, who are now nodding at each other, probably has some kind of a plan laid down.

"Ok, that's that," Raei announced as he prepares his Inkbrush Nouveau.

"What do you guys have plan in mind?" Kthulhu asks his teammates.

"You're not listening?"

 _Ermm..._ Nope he didn't. He did a Verique again and he spaced out and went to deep thought, albeit much deeper than he could possibly go to, "Err, nnnoooooo... Spaced out a little."

Raei puts his palm to his face, "I swear, Verique is not a very nice influence on you, lad." He glances back to Mika, "Give him a short recap, please."

"Y-yes, we still have time left," Mika clears her throat, "Ok, so to begin; You and Raei will be going to the frontlines, try make them busy. While Trix, her-" points to the E-Liter sniper, "-name, will be the one to get to a vantage point that will give her an overview of the centre of the stage. I'll be the one to take care of Rodhann."

"So that means you'll go backdoor the Rising Tsunami's base?"

"S-something like that."

"Yeah, we're basically using _their_ strategy," Raei explained, "the exception is that Trix will be the one overwatching anyone that tries to flank us, and both of us will go on offensive. This plan might not work like we want it to be, but this is like the only plan we could think of at the current moment and we don't have much time to think of any other complicated and complex strategies for this one."

"Well, if that's the only plan you guys can come up with, then we have to go and deal with it," Kthulhu said as he turns and face the splattlefield, "We'll improvise during the battle."

"Yeah, like we have any more choices to make."

" _ **The match is about to begin in 15 seconds,"**_ The automated speaker blared throughout the stage.

"Ok, strat time has ended; get ready for the inkoming tsunami that is about hit the beach!" Raei shouted, as he readies his Inkbrush and holds like a spear.

Kthulhu pulls up his hood farther, and adjusts his Skull Mask. He let out a sigh, "Welp, here goes nothing."

"So, K, I got one more question," Raei then glances at Kthulhu over his shoulders, while the automated speaker blared out the that match is about to begin in ten seconds, "Are you really up to this? Can you do it?"

Kthulhu silently stares at Raei, pondering the question. With every second passes, he is clearly thinking about it if he would go through this undetected, but as soon as the timer hits the seven second mark, he finally made up his mind, and answered him with subtle and fierce determination, "I'm ready."

This made Raei smile, sensing his determination inside of him, as he turns his head away and back to the splattlefield, "Then let's do this."

 _ **3...**_

 _ **2...**_

 _ **1...**_

 _ **GO!**_

And so it begins, the battle against the tides of the Rising Tsunami, as Kthulhu and his team started to claim their home turf with their ink color, as they make their to the centre of the game studio.

* * *

 _ **A/U**_ _– And that's a wrap! (That'll be my end Author's Note catchphrase from now on) Now Kthulhu's preparation of being an enigmatic incognito, he has to face against Tarã, his very own family member that he hasn't seen for a long time, with her team, the_ _ **Rising Tsunami**_ _, while avoiding getting his cover blown away by his two friends that are in the said team. Will he succeed on getting through the match, all while focusing on winning and standing against the tide? Maybe not, but we will see in the next chapter!_

 _This is a hard chapter to make, holy shet. The part where Kthulhu is telling Raei most of his backstory is a difficult one, but I manage to get through and finish it. Hope this worth all of your time, and I'll update the Nationilities with this:_

 _ **Malacca**_ _– A country in the Southeast Region, and the home country of_ _ **Mikaela**_. _It is the Splatoon Incarnation of Malaysia, it is named after a strait with the same name, and it is a closest neighbouring country of Lapunia. It is one of the world's popular tourist destinations for its many beautiful landmarks and landscapes. Citizens, Natives, and Language there are called_ _ **Malaccan**_ _._

 _Also, this might be one of the only times I won't follow the preview. And I won't throw in another one so that I can leave you hanging onto a cliff. :D_ _Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **Development starts - Tomorrow/After upload**_

 _ **Chapter will be uploaded in – Early June**_


	7. Against the Rising Tides Pt 2

_**A/U**_ _– Good freakin' gracious, Splatoon has so many complicated Stages, geez! I know I always get the maps wrong, but, damn, this might be the most complicated map I've ever tried to write yet._

 _It has way too many details in the Stage for me to write, like the fans and how they work, the areas they have to go through before they could even get to the centre of the Stage, and so many more miscellaneous details here and there. Let's go down to the path of "simplifying a map" and make this a map that goes through a beta stage before going through the final phase, with less fans, and a much wider centre. (seriously, who designs and makes a game studio like Ancho-V Games that has so many contraptions and elevated structures?)_

 _Alright, I won't keep you any longer, and I'll let you read the chapter; Enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7**_ **–** _Against the Rising Tides Pt. 2 (In the Eye of the Storm)_

* * *

 _Oh, well, here we go…_

 _I have to fight my own cousin, and also my friends for the second time ever…_

 _This is gonna be fun…_

…

 _I think…_

A few seconds in, shite has hit the fan quickly when both teams reached the centre of the stage…

Kthulhu, his bandana up, eyes open, and hood up, has reached the centre with Raei, and they are already met with a big pool of Blue ink, two snipers from the Rising Tsunami stationed to a wall that can be accessible through the platforms powered by propeller lifts, and their ink haven't even touched any spec of the centre. They are certainly quick with inking turf. Raei started to brush his way to take the opposing enemies ink, but he bumped into something when he is about to brush his way into the Blue ink, and suddenly, the Roller of the Rising Tsunami, Rodhann, came out from the ink, right where Raei bumped into something.

The time he came out, his roller also formulated at the same time as Rodhann did, right below Raei's Inkbrush. Rodhann then swung his Roller horizontally upwards, with the Inkbrush along with it, making him vulnerable to being splatted by the Roller if he brings his roller down at him.

But Kthulhu has pretty quick reaction time, as before he could raise the Roller high enough, he sprints to Raei and pushed him out of the way before Rodhann could bring it down. The time he pushed him away from the Roller's range, Rodhann is about to bring down his roller at Kthulhu. Before he gets splatted, he quickly raises his Custom Range Blaster to protect himself.

He swung his Roller down at Kthulhu's Custom Range Blaster, successfully blocked the attack. But the swing is so strong, this made Kthulhu's left knee to hit the Orange Ink Raei has made with his Inkbrush. _Damn, this Blaster is not for blocking big weapons,_ If he only had his Carbon Roller, he could splat this guy in a flash.

"Now that's what I call a bad decision, dumb bloke!" Rodhoann arrogantly mocked Kthulhu, as he puts more force onto his roller, pushing him down even more, to the point that he is forced to use his right arm for support, making it more difficult to hold his ground (literally).

But his mouth can still spit out words with no difficulty, "Better be careful what are you saying there." He warned as he struggles to block the Roller.

"Oh yeah? Tell that to the floor!" Rodhann then puts more force to his Roller once again, making it more difficult to hold back that damn Roller. If he continues to block it, he'll be splatted for sure…

… that is, until he already formed a way to break away from this hold…

"Then better look at the floor," Kthulhu dared, which Rodhann did look down at the floor, and his eyes widened by the sight; a Splat Bomb. This forces him to back off from Kthulhu, breaking him free from Rodhann's Roller. After broke free, he quickly grabs the trigger of his Range Blaster and in a flash, he aims it directly at the vulnerable Rodhann. He pushed the trigger of the Range Blaster, firing a guaranteed shot to Rodhann, and at the same time, the Splat Bomb exploded that did only a slight amount of damage to Rodhann, but soon turned to a puddle of Orange ink when the Range Blaster shot lands a hit on his stomach.

With Rodhann out of the way, he glances at Raei, who is now struggling to keep his ground as well as he is barely dodging sniper shots from both Tara and Yeran, all while attempting to get close to them. It's not going so well, though.

Kthulhu took this opportunity to take advantage of their focus on him and advance to the sniper. He takes aim to their direction and fired a Blaster shot, and swims through the created ink path. With the help of Ninja Squid, he goes through an entire line without getting detected by both snipers.

… _an entire line_ …

As soon as he resurfaced to fire another Blaster shot towards the snipers, Yeran eyes are staring towards Kthulhu, and she started to redirect her aim to Kthulhu, her charger is fully charged. _Well so much for being sneaky…_ He quickly turned to his squid form and strafes to the right to dodge the initial shot from Yeran's charger. He quickly resurfaced and quickly fired Blaster shot to their direction mid transformation, and quickly swam through it before Yeran could charge another shot.

Halfway through the third line he made, Yeran has a fully charged shot ready, and is about to fire at him, trying to predict where he is in the path he made. He then saw the laser is pointing in front of him, near the end of the path. _I think it's time for me to jump_ , If he doesn't, he'll be eating that shot right in the face.

Before the laser points at him, he returned to his Inkling form and mid-transformation, he 360 jumped, and Yeran fired a fully charged shot at him a few milliseconds late, barely dodging it as she shoots him right below his feet. The time that he did a 360 spin and before he lands to the small puddle of Blue ink Yeran had left, his Blaster aims to the right, and quickly fired a Blaster shot at the same direction, creating another line of ink path. He transformed into is squid form before his feet touches his team ink.

As he completely submerged into his team's ink, he stayed still, hoping to fool Yeran from thinking that he went to the direction he made an ink path. It worked, as she started to aim to the ink path he made. Though, her aim averted back to Raei, who also barely dodged Yeran's charged shot. This guy's nimble with the Inkbrush, can survive even when gang up upon by two snipers.

After she fired the charged shot that was supposed to be for him, he was about to proceed towards the snipers again, until he saw a Splat Bomb landed right in front of him. Quickly as he can he swam away through the untouched ink path. As it exploded a second after it land, the ink path he swam through turned into a small puddle of Orange ink. Probably should've swam back instead of going to the ink path, but then again, the ink path behind him before he swam through the fresh ink path is cut off with Blue ink. Verique is that smart, and he was undetected by Trix when he got here… _Screw you, Verique, you sneaky nerd…_

As he resurfaced, Verique, who threw the splat bomb, started shooting at him. Before the ink started to hit him, he threw a Splat Bomb down to his feet, and shoots out a Blaster shot, not at the nerd, but at the incoming ink shots. The Blaster shot is powerful enough to absorb and deflect the Squelcher shots; all while damaging Verique for a little bit. He jumped to the sea of Blue ink, inside the blast radius of his Splat Bomb, and landed right after it exploded.

Verique continued to fire shots at him, and he tries to dodge them while trying to maneuvre around the ever so shrinking puddle of Orange ink, but soon escapes the puddle by creating another ink path, but this time, towards Raei, and swims through it. He needs some space to move on if he has to splat Verique. Raei notices this as he blocks an incoming shot with his Inkbrush, having covered his path with Orange ink, decides to assist Kthulhu by switching places with him, and recklessly charges to him, all while impressively dodging and blocking Verique's Squelcher shots, anime and samurai style. He really is the disciple of Ryoko, and she would be proud of him if she ever saw this.

In no time, he reached Verique, and thrusts his Inkbrush at Verique, which missed as Verique sidestepped to his left, but Raei successfully landed a hit as he swings his Inkbrush, a full ninety degree swing at Verique, damaging him with the Orange ink that flung off from his Inkbrush, "You thought you're slick dodging that, huh?! Come here and let me smack you with my Inkbrush Bob Ross style!"

"Oh cod, not 'ze Bob Ross Brush Smack Style! Scheisse!" Verique cussed, as he attempts to kite Raei while trying to back away from him, who seems to be genuinely scared. Apparently the ' _ **Bob Brush Smack Style**_ ' is something to fear of when Raei's using an Inkbrush. Better note that…

He has no time to note anything though, as he is immediately getting fired upon by... Yeran? And he felt an aura that is looming to him. He has no time to think about it either, as he dodged a fully charge shot from Yeran by hopping sideways to his right. He dodged it, but he noticed another threat near him; a Suction Bomb placed right by where he landed.

He immediately sprints and fires a Blaster shot towards Yeran and submerges in the path and swam far away from the Suction Bomb. As he resurface, Yeran's Charger laser is pointing right in front of his that made him instinctively and quickly raises his Blaster up to the laser. She fired the shot, and he successfully blocks it, but not without getting pushed back and get a little damage from the ink that flew off from the impact and went through his Blaster. Even worse, he felt an aura that is right beside his left side. He glances to his left, and before he knows it, there is a Kraken that is lunging at him with murderous intent on their eyes.

 _Tangina, si Tarã!_ He cussed in his mind as the Kraken is about ram him, bracing for impact.

...that is until a big bubble formed on him, pushing him back instead.

He is pushed back for a bit and into the Rising Tsunami's ink. He looks up, and he saw Raei is by the left side of the Kraken who also has a Bubbler active in him, and Verique's nowhere to be seen. _Maybe he got Bob Brushed to oblivion by Raei. Nice._

Kthulhu wasted no more time, as soon as he stopped getting pushed back, he started to create his path to Yeran, who will be a major threat if ignored. Raei then was pushed back by the Kraken Tarã and started to chase Kthulhu. After a few dodges from Yeran's Charger, his Bubble is about run out, and Kraken Tarã is just a few feet away from him. He decides to take her as far as possible from Yeran by doing something he have yet done before.

As Kraken Tarã got closer to him, he fires a shot at her, which only push her back a little, of course, but that is not what he is about to do. He now has a line of path to run on and Kraken Tarã is on that path. As she was about to swim through the path, Kthulhu sprints to Kraken Tarã, while running with the same speed when he was going to Yeran without any hesitation. This made Kraken Tarã to try and lunge at him again to push him back, but the speed he got gives him strength, and he proceeds to ram Kraken Tarã as soon as she jumps, bumping onto her belly instead of her head. It pushes Kthulhu a little, but the force he got from his speed is much more powerful than her Kraken strength, pushing both back, but Kraken Tarã was pushed back further from him, making her roll a few feet away from both Kthulhu and Yeran.

"Tarã!" Yeran shouted her name, shocked by the sight of her friend getting knocked away. She then glared at Kthulhu, not knowing it was him, and started aiming her charger at him, charging her shot.

His bubbler dissipated half a second later. What a very bad time for the bubbler to run out. He acted quickly, though, as the bubbler runs out he fires out another shot of his Custom Range Blaster diagonally to Yeran. He was about to jump to the path he created, but immediately pulls back as he correctly predicts Yeran as she shoots to the very start of the line, faking her. That is when he jumps and dives in to his own ink.

He is one more Blaster shot near Yeran's platform, as he resurfaced halfway through the ink path he created one more ink path that will lead to Yeran, barely missing another shot from Yeran, and he swam through it.

An act of desperation, Yeran takes out and throws a Sprinkler in the middle of the line Kthulhu created and she quickly submerge to refill ink. The Sprinkler did stall him, albeit just for a second, as he just shoot it with his Custom Range Blaster and it immediately breaks to pieces. With that out of the way, he proceeds to climb up the platform Yeran is standing on by shooting a Blaster shot vertically up the wall, which may or may not have damaged Yeran a little bit, and swims up the path.

As he got to the top of the platform, he saw Yeran has resurfaced with a Killer Wail on her hand, aimed for him. She's unintentionally giving him bad memories of a certain Private Match he wished he couldn't remember anymore. She then acticates it on Kthulhu, he is about to get splatted by the sounds of a screeching guitar riffs.

Luckily, his tentacle hair has been boiling up, his Special, Kraken, is now ready. Right before the Killer has been fired, he unleashed _**Krakenthulhu**_ once again, and it negated the damage the Killer Wail. But he got continuously pushed back by the powerful sound waves of the Killer Wail, wasting at least two and a half seconds of Kraken time, but manages to get near her, albeit rather slowly. After the sound waves dissipate, Krakenthulhu lunges at Yeran, ready to splat.

With no other options viable to her advantage, she jumped down from the grate and to the centre on her squid form, narrowly dodging Krakenthulhu's attack. _Damn, she really got the luck of the Lochish on her side..._

But she can't escape from the Krakenthulhu, as soon as she landed at the centre, he also jumps down, but this time, he jumped a few feet away from her, but still caught her in his Kraken radius. As soon as he landed, he lunged at Yeran, who has nowhere to run, and he rammed his spinning head against Yeran, splatting her. And please, reader, don't take this out of context, as we have no intention on what body part he just hits, and I hope for the love cod don't think anything dirty about the way Krakenthulhu splat Yeran.

 _Not anymore, though,_ He then transforms back to his Inkling form, and then turned around to face his cousin. But the only he faced is a charged shot right into his left temple, splatting him as well.

Guess luck is not on his side either...

* * *

 _Damn, that was bad,_ I can still feel the smacks of his damn Inkbrush slapping my cheeks as I rub my left hand to my cheek. I hated that move, Raei always do that on me so that he could make fun of me whenever I got go against him in a Turf War.

Also, that Zhed... he looks rather familiar. Not by the looks of course, he has his hood on with a bandana on his face, but by the way he moves. It reminds of Kthulhu whenever he does those things.

Or maybe he is Kthulhu... I can't say for sure... I just have to observe a little bit more for now.

Ahh, what am I thinking? If I went into deep thought now, we'll certainly lose this battle. So before I go too deep into thinking, I shook my head and I begin to swim back to the splattlefield in an attempt to assist my captain and my comrades in this fight.

I'll deduce with Yeran later...

* * *

Kthulhu respawns after five seconds after getting splatted by Tarã, he is rubbing his left temple, where he got shot by Tarã's fully charged Squiffer shot. That freakin' hurt...

There he also meet up with Raei, who seem to got splatted as well, "You too?"

"Yeah, she got me," Raei said, as he shook his head to remove any excess ink that is left on him, "She knows how to take care of herself rather well. What happened to you?"

"Shot my head back to spawn, that's what happened."

"That's unusual for you to get splatted within the first minute."

"You couldn't even last thirty seconds."

"'Shaddap! Let's go before your mouth spits too many fire!" And there, the two bros swam their way to the centre, all while trying to ink turf that is left on their area. This will truly be a tough battle Kthulhu has to fight. Not on the level of The Duel, but it is around that level of difficulty, because he has to try not get his cover blown, and hope that they don't find out it was him, and nobody wants Tarã to break down in the middle of a Turf War Match. He can only hope that his friends are not as smart he think they are.

They were about to go to the centre, until Kthulhu stops for a moment and takes a look to his right, and he saw Rodhann coming in with his Roller down taking turf.

"Raei, we have company," He warned him, as he readies to fight Rodhann for the second time.

"Our sniper's in trouble too!" Raei called out as he looks at the direction where their sniper is positioned. Trix is getting ganged upon by Tarã and Verique, putting her in a tight spot and is forced to retreat.

Looks like they had to split, "You'll take care of Rodhann, I'll assist our sniper. You have a powerful inking tool, so after you splat him, take whatever turf too inked earlier." This way, they could multitask and take off some load off from their shoulders and to lessen the pressure for Kthulhu's team.

"Alright, Cap'n, good luck out there," He complied as he brushes his way to Rodhann. He better splat him, or things will go down rock bottom. Kthulhu proceeds to swim towards Trix as fast as he can, he needs her if he wants to win this match.

He is about to reach her as he goes up the ramp, but the sniper laser from Tarã is pointing at her that looks like a fully charged shot, ready to splat her. _Nope, not gonna happen now,_ She's a vital part of this team, everyone is, but she is the second most important to be kept unharmed for long. So, to prevent her from being splatted by Tarã, he takes out a Splat Bomb, and throws it like a baseball towards the laser. Tarã then released her fully charged Squiffer shot...

...it was successfully blocked by Kthulhu's Splat Bomb!

But not without getting a little damaged by some of that flew off after the impact that hit the Splat Bomb. So much for keeping her unharmed… The Splat Bomb, due to the power of the impact from the fully charged shot, it changed trajectory and it bounces of the elevated platform that is similar to Yeran's and exploded that almost hit both Tarã and Verique, but not without backing off and flinch, and also take some damage.

Trix then glances towards Kthulhu with a face of relief, "Kth-" _Shet!_ Kthulhu's hearts skipped three beats and almost choked when she is about to call out his name, _in front of freakin' Verique_ , "Z-Zhed! You got here in time!" _Phew… so close…_ He could feel a single sweat slithers down on his temple. If she ever calls out his name so loudly, he would've inked his pants by now, "Hurry, they won't be stunned for long!"

Kthulhu then goes by her side as he confronts both fighters, and whispered to her, "Geez, be careful with your words."

"I'm sorry, can't help but felt relieved you came in time," She whispers back, before pointing her E-Liter at Tarã, who just recovered and also pointed her weapon at Trix.

Almost at the same time, both fire their respective Chargers, and both shots hit each other instead of the snipers. Almost at the same time, Kthulhu and Verique charged into combat against each other, with both are on par with each other despite the former has a range advantage against the latter. They are all on par with each other, until someone from Kthulhu's team fired an Inkstrike at them, making both of them back off from Kthulhu and Trix, and Super Jumped to Trix, and puts a Splash Wall in between both her and on the Inkstrike's targeted location while Trix is refilling, and started to rain down ink at her, forcing Tarã to retreat back to their side of the centre.

This also made Verique to retreat, as he will be overwhelmed by Kthulhu's team after that Inkstrike explosion. Kthulhu didn't bother chasing Verique, and runs behind the Splash Wall, and started to refill. Now both teams are in their perspective side of the centre, both teams stopped.

"Good timing to arrive, Mika. What happened to Raei?" Kthulhu asks Mika as he refills.

"He's on his way; we splatted Rodh and he'll be sneaking up on them," Mika answered as she prepares her Heavy Splatling, "We need another plan, K- Zhed, if we continue this plan, this will get both teams nowhere."

"Oh, I have to disagree with you, Mika," Trix reemerged and said, "They are freakin' OP. If we continue to do this, they'll just wash us away to the shore of our spawn point."

"That's why we need another plan," Mika then turns to Kthulhu, "Any ideas?"

Kthulhu sadly shook his head, "None at the moment, we still need to improvise. It's hard because a few moments of stop, and there will be a wave of blue ink coming towards us."

"Well, we stopped and they stopped as well, so we have to think about something right now," Mika points out, as he saw Tarã and Verique is also talking to each other, hopefully not about Kthulhu, and Yeran just arrived who also joined them. They might be planning out for something.

Even if they stop and the Rising Tsunami lets them by the doing the same thing, Kthulhu couldn't think of any plan to break through their thick defense. If Tarã turned out to what Kthulhu thought she have been, they won't be able to formulate any fast plans, and might as well improvise again till the next minute. This is one of the only times that Kthulhu feels stumped creating any more plans, as his team doesn't have the greatest weapon line up for this kind of match; an all well-rounded weapon line-up against a defensive and assassin type one.

 _Crap, this is not going well for us,_ Yeah, no shite, Sherlock. If this keeps going, they'll be washed over to the shore like beached whales, like what Trix said earlier.

His train of thoughts was once again derailed when he saw Verique used Echolocator, his Special, and one of the black, spirit-like squid things goes to through the other elevated pathway that leads to the centre. _Takte, they detected Raei!_ So much for being sneaky, too…

Yeran's lips formed a mischievous grin, as she points her Charger up to the elevated pathway where Raei comes out. She fired one fully charged shot, but her quick change of facial expression means that she either missed or her shot got blocked. He can't tell either way, but a second later, he came out of the elevated pathway, with his war face on, and he long jumped out of said pathway with a war cry, long and far enough to reach the three members of the Rising Tsunami.

"Ah, screw 'zis! I ain't gonna get Bob Brushed again!" Verique immediately and quickly backs off from the his range, scared that he might get repeatedly smacked on the face by a rampaging Bob Ross wannabe coming through and leave destruction on their wake.

Tarã tried to shoot him midair, but Raei did a Kthulhu and he does a spins attack with his Inkbrush, blocking the incoming shot, all while Orange ink flew off from his Inkbrush all over the place, inking the Rising Tsunami's turf with ease. It comes to their attention that they'll have to retreat before they get Bob Brushed or got hit by a random stray ink, and soon they get out of his radius before he could land, but even if they get out of his radius, they still got some Orange ink stuck in their body, and Raei immediately charged the nearest target, a.k.a. Tarã, and tries to smack her with the Inkbrush, all while trying to dodge incoming fire from both, and freaking succeed! Damn, I, the narrator, already said it again, but he truly is the disciple of Ryoko!

"Ok, now we have a plan; go all out," Kthulhu finally formulated a plan, "You two help out Raei, I'll take care of Verique."

Both nodded, as Mika started to charge up her Heavy Splatling and released it after a second later, releasing a barrage of ink at the Rising Tsunami' turf. Trix also charges her E-Liter and points it at Yeran, who just now glanced at Mika, and is about to charge a shot from her Charger and points it at Mika. Kthulhu is now charging to Verique who hasn't noticed him yet, but as soon as he is halfway, he finally noticed and points his Dual Squelcher at Kthulhu.

And there, the struggle has truly begun for both of the teams, as both started to fight an intense tug of war in an attempt to gain domination against each other.

* * *

 _ **Earlier**_

 _ **Through**_ _**Tarã's Eyes**_

* * *

Looks like they stopped attacking us; we better prep up before they could attack, "Come here Verique, let's see what we can do," I called out to teammate and friend over to me.

"Have any plans in mind, Tarã?" He asked, while glancing at our opponents, who also refilling their ink in their Orange Ink, "If we continue doing 'zis, it will get us to nowhere, Tarã. Raei and Mika pretty much knows what we do, and they are now stranding us here in 'ze centre."

"I noticed, pretty much this strat we've been doing for at least two months now isn't working as it used to be," This is have been happening most of the time to us, but never knew that we will get stuck like this. They are pretty relentless I gotta say, especially that Zhed dude, he just pushed me off while I was on Kraken Mode like it was nothing. I have underestimated him when I was calculating their threat levels, and I have to pay the price by getting ourselves locked onto the centre without much progress.

Now, it's safe to say that he'll be in the second highest threat level; he's pretty agile, probably has a pretty good aim with that Range Blaster he got, and he works surprisingly well with Raei. Together they are the most dangerous duo that could set their feet in Turf Wars.

It's time to change up the strats; we can't afford to get stuck like this with a fifty-fifty chance of winning, and if they are trying to stall us, we have to be as relentless as we could get, "Alright, let's switch it up; we will go all-out offensive," On cue, Yeran Super Jumped to us, joining in.

"What happened? Why aren't they attacking?" Yeran wondered as he glances back and forth from our opponents to us, "Did I miss something?"

"Unless you mean by targets, no, you haven't missed anything yet," Verique answered as he goes to his phone and quickly texts Rodhann about the change of plans.

"You did miss _one_ thing," I said as I raise up my Squiffer, "Change of plans, we'll go all out on them. If we just go defensive, we would be stuck in the same position as before. We can't let that happen and then lose at a game of fifty-fifty."

"That's unlike you; can't Rodhann do the job?"

"No, we have two friends in the opponent's team, and they know what we do and what we can do, so we have to change up so that it would be difficult for them to keep up with us. And besides, that Zhed guy over there is pretty damn agile and quick, and he pretty much knows what he's doing despite being only B+, and he may beat us even when he's alone. If he was ever paired with Raei, they can be an unstoppable force to reckon with, so we have to change up, and fight back with all our might." We are on a win streak, and we can't afford to break that streak by losing a stale, fifty-fifty win/lose chance match. Sticking to the same plan may only destroy us, so changing up some plans will be at utmost necessary in this kind of situation.

"Well, alright then," Yeran nodded, as she also prepares her Charger, "Guess we have no other choice. And also," She then glances to Verique, who just puts his phone to his pocket, and fires his Dual Squelcher at a random Orange ink puddle, which made his tentacle hair light up and flow with bubbles, "Does that ' _Zhed_ ' character, the guy with the red hoodie, remind you of Kthulhu a little bit?" _Cthulhu? Who's she talking about, beside the one from that come from the stories?_

"I thought about it after I respawned, he does somewhat remind me of him," Verique said as he activates his Special, Echolocator. _Who's this Cthulhu-guy, really? Someone must've nicknamed himself as the one monster from the stories so they can scare children in Turf War._ _I'll find who that is later, gotta focus on our match_ , I then noticed that one of the Echolocator Squids goes pass me and went onto the elevated platform. Well, well, look who's sneaking up there; though, it is a waste of Echolocator just to find one hidden squid. Then again, it's Raei that we just detected, and if he manages to surprise attack us, it would be a game over for us.

"Well, well, look who's hiding over there," I hear Yeran say, as a mischievous grin formed on her lips, and aims her Charger at the elevated platform where Raei will come out, hopeful that she can splat him. When he did come out from where they can access that platform, Yeran immediately fired a fully charged shot at him. The shot did land…

…it landed on his Inkbrush… merde…

Before she could even get the chance to charge up again, he started to charge towards us with a war cry, ready for battle, "Ah, screw 'zis! I ain't gonna get Bob Brushed again!" I hear Verique yelled in distress, as I started to charge up my Squiffer in an attempt to splat him. Before I could finish charging up, he long jumped down from the platform, high and long enough to reach us. _Argh, I have to splat him quickly!_ As soon as he long jumped, I finished charging, and I immediately released it against Raei. It landed as well, but on his cod damn brush again as he does a spin attack midair!

Dios freakin' mio, how many stupid moves did Ryoko taught him!? I swear, his moves are getting ridiculously OP as time goes on!

We wasted no time, to back away from where he'll land. He continues spinning even after blocking that shot, maybe in hopes of- wait… shite, it inked so many of our turf! Screw you, Ryoko, for teaching Raei such ridiculously powerful moves like this! "Everyone, back away from him!" And we did, but I still got some Orange stuck on my cheeks and on my shoulders. And worse, right after he landed, he charges towards me and he thrusts his Inkbrush at me. Dammit, why am I always the first one to be targeted…?

I barely dodged it when I sidestepped to the side, and I used my Squiffer to try and block it again when Raei swings his Inkbrush at me. It is successfully, but it pushed me a little to the side, a few feet away from Yeran, who is now fighting against Mika and Trix. I also saw Zhed in the corner of my eye, who is now charging at Verique. Damn, they are thinking the same thing, huh? This going to be fun…

No time to think, it's time for action; before Raei could do anything else, I take out a Suction Bomb, and I quickly throw it to the ground, just below Raei, which backs him off from me. Now that I got some space, I quickly grabbed the trigger of my Squiffer and I begin charging a shot for Raei, who is still backing off from the explosion of my Suction Bomb. Right when my Squiffer got a half-charged shot stored in, I pointed my Squiffer at Raei, and I fired the charged at him. It's a hit in the shoulders, but I'm not done yet, because one more shot, and he'll be shot back to his spawn point. I pushed the trigger of my Squiffer and I immediately released it, firing a tap shot at him.

But it didn't land on him; it landed on a Splash Wall instead, saving him from getting splatted. Heh, Mika's reflexes are getting better than last time; I'm proud of you.

Raei then submerged to his team's ink, to refill and avoid fire behind that Splash Wall. Yeran, who manages to survive backs off beside me, "They are getting more relentless, Tarã! Without Rodhann, we will be back in our spawn points within a few seconds!"

"Don't worry, Yeran," I reassured her with a whispering, as I submerged for a few seconds to refill, "I already have a plan laid down. We'll stand our ground until Rodhann arrives, and we will begin counterattack."

Yeran nodded, standing ready to fight, "I hope you know what you're doing, Tarã."

"Just hold em off of us." On cue, I heard Verique's grunt as he got splatted by Zhed. Damn, poor amigo didn't stand a chance… Zhed then glances towards us with his face obscured with darkness, and he immediately sprints his way towards us, "… especially that guy."

"Then I'll-"

"No, _we'll_ do it together!" I've seen her trying to splat him, but then it has gone the other way around, and I ain't gonna let that happen this time. I take out another Suction Bomb that almost depleted my Ink Tank at Zhed's left. As expected, he just diagonally takes a big step to the right, avoiding the Suction Bomb before it even starts cooking and explodes. "Now, Yeran!"

Yeran then puts a Sprinkler down a few feet away in front of him, and it started to do its work, while I change my position, as I move myself back to my spot. This briefly halts Zhed from sprinting, and before I can even let him run up to me again, I shot out a fully charged at him, making him dodge to his right. _I'm not gonna let you near us, but I'll force you where I want you to be, Zhed._ Yeran also moved away from him, while she tries and attempts to dodge the attacks that came from both Trix and Mika, all while trying to attack at the same time, shooting out half charged shots above the Splash Wall.

The Splash Wall also dissipated, which gives an opening for an attack. This give Yeran an opportunity to shoot Trix, who didn't take account on the range of her own weapon, and is a few feet away behind Mika, and is on her sights. Yeran charges her shot, but she is getting upon by both Mika and Trix to the point of her almost getting splatted, and Raei is about to swat her away with his Inkbrush. But she manages to dodge most of their shots, and completely finished charging a shot, immediately releasing it right before she got splatted by Raei's Inkbrush, splatting Trix.

"What the-?" I didn't let him finish his sentence as I immediately splatted him with my Squiffer's fast fully charged shot. I will not let my friend's hard-earned splat be waste…

Mika and Zhed are the only ones left, and I got immediately bombarded with ink by both of them. I dodged a fully charged barrage from Mika, and I swim away from my current position to find another one. Zhed is getting near, firing a direct Blaster Shot at me. I dodged it, but I got hit by its blast, so I fire back at him with a half charged shot. I missed, he dodged to his left, but this gives me some time to and swim back to my original position, after I got them where I wanted them. It's time for a little payback…

As I resurfaced, my tentacle hair is now glowing blue and flowing with bubbles, my Special is ready for the second time. This made both of them back away a little, aware and cautious of my Tentacle Hair. Heh, they shouldn't be worry about just me, _because they'll be in double trouble…_

On cue, Rodhann landed beside me, from the elevated platform that Raei come out of, with a big grin on his face, his tentacle hair is also flowing with bubbles, his Special, Kraken, is also ready to be released. Time to take the tides with me and wipe them out!

"Heck yeah, baby! Let's-" I throw myself to Rodhann and quickly turn into my squid form, so that Rodhann can firmly grab me, and is winding up to a discus throw on me to them, "-do this!" He shouted in the top of his lungs, and with all his strength, he threw me at Mika who then places a Splash Wall, turns into her squid form and is about to retreat. _Oh no, you don't_ , Rodhann threw me powerful enough to catch up with her, and as soon as I was about to hit the Splash Wall, I turned to the Kraken once again, destroying the Splash Wall and went through it. As soon as I went through it, I landed right on top of Mika thanks to the speed of Rodhann's throw, splatting her.

Now that she's down, I started to quickly turn around to Zhed, who just dodged a jump attack from Kraken Rodhann, and he is focused on dodging his jump attacks. There's my queue to move, as I quickly slide my to him so that we can splat him. One jump attack later, his back is turned to me. Ohohoho, perfect angle for you to- wait, wait, wait, wait, no, no, ok, I'll stop, that would sound wrong real fast… Moving on!

After he turned his back on me, I immediately try to move- slide faster towards Zhed while he has his back still turned on me. A second of sliding later, Zhed is in my jump range, as well as he is on Rodhann's jump range. He made a bad mistake by turning around and faces me, as I jumped as soon as he turned around to me. At the same time, Rodhann also jumped in unison with me, and together, we rammed into Zhed and we _**splatwiched**_ the freakin' merde out of him!

"Yeeaah! We did it!" Rodhann cheered as we bumped each other's bellies for few seconds, until we turn back to our Inkling forms, giving each other victorious high fives, "That is freakin' awesome!"

"I know right!? Hahah! _**Double Kraken Trouble**_ has worked once again!" The success of the tactic puts a big smile on my face. Thank cod, it worked the fourth time me and Rodhann did this, and it is all worth it thanks to the Fresh Squiffer. I would certainly use this again some other time.

"Alright, Rodhann, victory may still be on our side, now let's paint this centre blue before they get back!" I commanded him, in which he happily complied as he threw a Squid Beakon somewhere to his right, and he started to paint the centre with his Krak-On Roller, with me assisting him with it. After all of that, we may have a chance after all; Zhed is difficult to deal with because of his agility and quick thinking, as well as his strength, he just knocked me off with a Bubbler by just ramming into me. Raei is almost the same as ever, but just with weird new techniques that Ryoko may have thought of and are ridiculously effective. This session is getting… quite interesting as time goes on. And _Cthulhu_? Hmm, I wonder who that is. Verique and Yeran seem to know him, so I might as well ask after this match.

Ahh, I shouldn't be thinking about that. For now, I have to focus on winning this match. If I did, it would be a great addition to my list of achievements in my TW Career History. I never felt so… hyped for battle, or anything that would describe how I felt during that battle after the first minutes of the match.

And let's see if all of us can keep this up for the rest of the match…

* * *

 _ **A/U**_ _– And that's a wrap! It's not over yet! This just the first half of the match between Kthulhu's/Zhed's team against the ever so powerful_ _ **Rising Tsunami**_ _/_ _ **Tsunamink**_ , _and both are in a stalement, until the Tsunamink's Leader and Captain, Tarã, has made a special move that has wiped out Kthulhu's/Zhed's remaining teammates, as well as himself. Do you think Kthulhu/Zhed can formulate a plan for an epic comeback? I don't know. But you'll find out soon in the next chapter!_

 _Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **Development starts - Tomorrow/After upload**_

 _ **Chapter will be uploaded in – Early June**_


	8. Against the Rising Tides Pt 3

_**Chapter 8**_ _– Against the Rising Tides Pt. 3 Finale (The Ride Against the Storm)_

* * *

… _,_ Kthulhu, thoughtless and impressed, respawned with the others. _… Heh, she's exactly what I thought she would be. I'm proud of her,_ He couldn't think of anything better for what she has become to be now, and he is glad she didn't turn out to be anything bad that he has thought a long time ago.

And now, looking at the present day of his cousin, Tarã, is now a proud and captain of a team, something Kthulhu didn't expect, but he ain't complaining. _I wonder if the others are also captains or their team as well_ , He wondered. They might be captains of a team of their own but he's not so sure about it. Maybe if- no, _when_ ; when he meets them in person without wearing his disguise, he'll make sure to ask them about it.

But now is not the time to think about such things; right now, they are going through some struggle against the Rising Tsunami; his team was wiped out after Tarã managed to take them out with the Double Kraken Combo with one of her teammates, Rodhann. If she ever tries to do it again in the last minute match, they'll be screwed over by the Rising Tsunami. And he could already feel that his friends already found out who he is now, and the plan that he and his teammates make must help try and successfully not raise any suspicion.

Yet, in his case, he doubts it because his plan is something… more extreme, and it's fairly difficult to pull off…

Before he could think anymore further, his teammates are about to make their way to the splattlefield, in which the Rising Tsunami are taking their turf, and they are getting closer to their spawn area. Before they could go, he calls them out and takes their attention by loudly saying, "Ahem."

This got their attention, and they turn their heads to glance at Kthulhu with expectant and curious looks on their faces. If they have no plan to begin with in this second quarter of the match, Kthulhu's team won't stand a chance against the Rising Tsunami, and they will be wiped out again. They have to make this plan something unique, something powerful enough to break through the tides, something that everyone could agree on…

… _something that is extreme_ …

… _**and Kthulhu has already thought of the perfect plan**_ …

"Guys," He started, "I have a plan…" This piqued their interest, ready to listen…

"…but this ain't gonna be easy, so please bear with me… _**We'll show them how we TIP the scales of battle**_ _…_ "

* * *

 _ **An Hour Earlier**_

* * *

"So that really happened?" I asked him, quite dumbfounded of what I have heard, "That's a hard thing to believe if I say so myself…"

"Trust me, I've watched the whole thing, and it was fun to see Yudius get beaten down by a newbie rookie who has just been in Inkopolis for at least four days." Zrix said, his face is filled with odd satisfaction. He really enjoyed watching that battle, I see, which kinda scares me a little, because earlier, the white orbs in his pitch black eyes have disappeared, which usually means that something bad has happened, or just scare me. But in this case, it did look like something bad happens; about what the two girls said earlier…

I'm hesitant to give him the question, but I did anyway, "So, uhh, about the thing the girls said about the Duel… what did Yudius said about me back there?"

And in an instant, his white pupils are once again disappeared, leaving him frozen and silent, his eyebrows furrowed, and his grin shrinks ominously. This is not usual of him, he is always a mischievous dork that loves puns and stuff, but whenever he gets like this, he usually turns serious and grim, or sometimes, even agitated, which is a rare occurrence even for me.

"I… I don't think I can tell you…" He said, his voice is hesitant, and with a tinge of anger on his tone, "Maybe someday… someday…"

 _Is it really that bad?_ "How bad was it then?" I can't help myself but ask. I don't know why, but his tone of voice only gives me more curiosity and suspicion about the whole thing.

"Bad is an understatement; it was terrible. You don't want to hear it…" His tone changed in a grave and solemn manner. It somewhat made me more nervous about knowing what Yudius said about me, and maybe _terrible_ is also an understatement.

"I-If you insist," I said as I looked back at the city. _What really happened?_ And who's this newbie who seem to care so much for a stranger? Even if everyone doesn't like hearing whatever he said, I didn't expect that it would anger such person to the extent of splatting the entire team of ragtag group of bullies without so much effort. That would've at least made him more susceptible to getting splatted himself, and yet, he didn't get splatted himself after the final half. Like, _how_? How's even that possible?

I was so in deep thought, I didn't notice Zrix has sat beside me, sitting like me except his left leg is resting on the tower while the other hangs on, and looking at the city with his grin has widened a little and his pupils has reappeared again. It didn't take long before he goes back to his usual self.

"Well, aside that, which I may or may never tell you, there are more things I could tell, y'know," He said, his right pupil looks at me, "I'm not even finished yet. We are almost done, so you're ready for another round of **Zrix's Supah' INKredible Story Telling**?"

"I swear, you're just as childish as you were since I met you back in Ammo Knights," He is kinda childish sometimes, only to the extent of words, not actions, like what he just said earlier and it somehow made me smile. Before I answer, I looked back at the city, "I'm in for another one, I just hope my headaches doesn't just attack out of nowhere and made fall off of this edge-" And on cue, my head pulsated again in pain, but this time, it's much more painful than the previous one. _Dammit, I spoke too soon!_

My hands immediately and instinctively clutch to my head, and I groaned in pain of my headache, "Ghh, Kyla!" If Zrix isn't with me, I would've fall off of the edge and have to endure a painful landing down to the ground, as he quickly holds me firmly and drags me off the edge before I fell, "Hang in there, Kyla, and this time, I'm not trying to make a pun out of it!"

My ears started to ring, as I try to rub both of my temples to try and ease the pain, but to no avail, the pain is still at the same intensity as it started. That is until Zrix puts his hands on both side of my head, his thumbs near my neck, and the rest is at the temples, just on top of my hands, "Ok-… just gen-… -ub your tem-… help you ou-…" I could only make out a few words, because my ears started ring, and wavelength things are now swimming through my vision again. But I manage to understand what he was trying to say, as I comply with his instructions. I slowly and gently rub my temples with the help of Zrix, and a few seconds later, my headache slowly started to ease, until it was gone after a minute later.

I let out a sigh of relief, "T-Thanks, Zrix. I spoke too soon and I got immediately jinxed…"

He then crouches beside me, as he places his hand on my left shoulder, "Let's just say you're not thinking a _ **head**_ before you-" I immediately pouted and I quickly uppercut him lightly right in the chin. A pun at a time like this? Geez, Zrix, you should know better than this…

"Ok, this is the only time that I'll say you're pun is terrible… I just got a headache, and I'm rather baffled that you can find a time to spat out a pun after I got one."

"Heheh, sorry, I can't help myself," He said through his teeth, "You can remove your hand that is on my chin now. It would be _**jaw**_ f- grrr!" I pushed my fist upwards, interrupting him again before he could even finish his awful pun. No, not today, Zrix; I love your puns, but still, this is not the time to say it, "Ow, ow, ok, ok, I'm sorry, please let me chin go."

I let his chin go and let my fist rest on the floor of the Moray Towers. He then stands up while rubbing his chin, and lends me a hand to help me get up, in which I accepted as I hold onto his hand as I get up from the floor to stand up, before letting go of it, "Alright, that's… something…"

"You ok still, K?"

I nodded in response, "Yeah, I'll be alright for a while…"

"And let's hope that will stay that way…"

"I too, hope for it," I then walk back to the edge where I almost fell off, and I grabbed my shake that is chilling (literally) and sitting by the edge, before I walk back to Zrix, "How about you tell me the rest of the story; this time, let's find somewhere that is not an edge of this tower…"

His grin got wider, and let out a small chuckle, "Yes, yes, we shall…"

* * *

 **Present Time**

* * *

It has been two minutes since the eventful first half of the match between Kthulhu's team and the Rising Tsunami, with them are on the lead again. During the past minute, it was just a battle of tug of war, as both teams are trying to take each other's turf, but both only got into the centre of the stage, and not each other's base. This has been going for the rest of the middle half, and it is beginning to become a big struggle for both teams to get each other's bases. If this keeps going, luck will always be part of both victory, with the notorious fifty-fifty chance is on effect that would decide who will be the winner of the match.

Kthulhu, so far, is getting good on not letting his identity slip in front of his friends or in front of Tarã. His Blaster skills, though, not so much, but he has been hitting all of those shots from his Custom Range Blaster, albeit indirect ones, but hey, even a little improvement helps. If he had his roller for this match, though, he would've destroyed the Rising Tsunami without too much effort, though, it will prove it even more difficult to hide his identity if he just uses his Carbon Roller with the handle thing in it. That would only give it away if he ever uses that Roller.

Right now, the Rising Tsunami has the centre under their control, with a minute left on the clock. Trix is keeping them off at bay, which she somehow became astonishingly did a good job at with Mika, while they try to make their plan work. I, the narrator, won't spoil the surprise, but it something about an Ink Reserve, and that is the only hint that I, the narrator, could give you, because if I give you more than that, both the editor and the author would kill me. Moving on!

Ok, this is what is happening now; the Rising Tsunami stopped attacking, as they can't get through Trix's surprisingly tough defense. She wasn't as proficient in doing so, but somehow, she managed to make the Rising Tsunami be cautious around her radius of fire. The E-Liter may be slow at charging, but she uses this as an advantage to bait people into thinking that the E-Liter's charge could give them time, but they started to back away from her radius as soon as she started to let out shots that can still splat even if it is just almost full-charged. She may or may not have many Damage Ups on her damn gear, but who knows…

And now, let's see how they are doing with their plan…

Here we have Kthulhu and Raei, on the other pathway that leads to the centre. Both of their tentacle hair are boiling and flowing with bubbles, both of their Specials, Kthulhu's Kraken and Raei's Bubbler, are now ready to be deployed into the splattlefield. It took them long enough to reserve them for the final minute of the match, as they either forced to use it, got splatted, or both. Now, they have it under control, the _actual_ plan is now in motion.

"Let's do this, K?" Raei asked; a grin is formed on his lips that represented his immense satisfaction.

"Yes, I was born ready," Kthulhu answered with determination, as he prepares his Custom Ranger Blaster for the final battle and the final struggle for Turf.

"Then, let the gears of the plans set to motion!"

* * *

" _ **A minute left!**_ _"_ Blared the voice from the automatic speaker, which annoyed my ears rather than agitating me.

 _Not this again…_

We got stuck in the centre, _**again**_. This has been going on for entirety of the damn match, and now it is happening again, and this time, we can't get through the sniper that suddenly became a high level obstacle to our victory and a high level threat to us. She freakin' splatted Rodhann in one damn shot one time, and heck, there may be is now way how to tell how charge they put in the chargers unless it's a full charge, but I swear, her shots are not in full charge. It might be around _**seventy to eighty five percent**_ charge, I dunno, but it's around those said percent.

What the heck happened? She did not become like this when we first tried to splat her during th first minute of the game. Her stats is still the same after the first minute, but she suddenly become a walking sentry with a sniper installed on her.

"Can't get through me, huh?" Trix teased us, "Come on, I though you guys are powerful enough to get through one player that is just camping and chilling in this platform right over here."

"That's my job!" Yeran shouted in protest. Well, no one does a better job at camping spots like Yeran can, so…

"Well, you ain't camping yet, y'know. You started to get aggressive for the last few minutes."

"That cheeky little…" Ignoring her, I glanced at Verique, who is by the right of Yeran, with him glancing back at me. I nodded at him, and he nodded back, a plan has been secured, and he prepares his Dual Squelcher. I then, glance back at Rodhann, who is beside left me, and his right eye glances to me. I nodded, and he nodded back too, the plan is now in motion. If we keep this going, I will not be satisfied with the victory, even if it's close by a freaking 0.01 percent, I don't care. I will not let luck decide what team will be the winner of this damn match…

"What are you guys nodding about? Agreed that you to surrender to us? Sorry, but we don't take priso-"

"No, no, not that," I interrupted her, "But it's more like this…" I then snap my fingers of my left hand; _my plan is now in effect._ Both Verique and Rodhann started to ink and move towards

"Alright!" Yeran fired a fully charged shot at the Trix, making her sidestep to her right. Her tentacle hair then started to flow with bubbles; her Special, Killer Wail, is now ready to be deployed once again. She immediately takes it out and directed her fire at Trix directly, "You and Mika are screwed now!" She then fired the Killer Wail at her, emitting powerful soundwaves. Trix, managed to dodge it, but what about Mika?

"Hah! You think Mika is with me!? Not a chance, but she's still refilling back in this damn wall!" Trix then fired a half-charged shot at Verique, but he dodged it with ease. Only with a cause of making her tentacle hair flow with bubbles; her Special, Echolocator, is ready, but I don't know what will it do to help her and her team against us, though. And dammit, Mika is behind that damn platform, if we didn't splat her, we'll be done as a grilled squid.

We are now trying to get near her and splat her, but even with the weight of her Charger, she somewhat dodges most of our shot, and looking at her face, she looks really confident and determined. _What gave her this kind of determination to have the ability to dodge most of our shots with ease and not tiring herself?_ I may never know…

Rodhann and Verique are now near Trix, with Verique has started to rain down ink at her, and Rodhann is a few feet away and directly perpendicular in front of her, serving as a distraction, "Hey, Tsunamink!" _Huh?_ She then points her left index upwards, and the Echolocator squids came out of the sleeves of her Purple Camo LS, activating her special as the black, spirit-like squids swirl around us, giving away our location. But how can that help her and her team win against us this situation, "Better look up or down, maybe there's a gift for you coming from heavens!"

That is rather tempting, but I looked up anyway; nothing. Nothing's there. Then I looked down, and my eyes widened at the sight of a swirling marker of an Inkstrike that is by my foot! Dammit, she's just a bait! She uses herself as bait for us to get near her!

"INKSTRIKE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I look up again, and I saw an Inkstrike is now in the air and is now descending to the location where the marker is. My teammates are immediately alerted my teammates and we immediately backed off from the Inkstrike marker as fast as we can.

 _SPLOAW!_

The Inkstrike has landed to its marker, and it expels a gigantic tornado of ink that I got almost engulfed into. If I didn't see it earlier, I would've been flown away back to the spawn base.

Alright, Mika wasted her Inkstrike, thinking that she would splat us with it. That would've been a well-placed Inkstrike, if only Trix didn't alarm me about the Inkstrike. Now, I wonder, where is Mika and her other teammates…?

…and I think I got my answer right in front of me, as I witness a spinning Kraken came out of the Inkstrike tornado and rams onto me, immediately splatting me back to my spawn.

 _What… in the actual crap happened?_

* * *

 _The plan worked…_

 _The plan "_ _ **Trojan Inkstrike Payback**_ _" a.k.a. "_ _ **Trojan Inkstrike Prime**_ _" or_ _ **T.I.P.**_ _is a freakin' success…!_

It didn't took a long time to formulate the plan, but it took a long time to actually execute it, like thinking of an idea for an illustration that took a like a few seconds to make and the illustration itself took a week to actually finish. It was a satisfying success, as this plan was a hard thing to pull off, and Kthulhu's team will make it worth it.

* * *

 _ **Earlier**_

* * *

"So what's this plan?" Trix enthusiastically asked, ready to hear her idol's plan.

"I'm not gonna tell you guys the main course of this plan, but all of you, fill up your Special Gauge, preserve it and fight the urge to use it as long as possible, especially you Mika. We'll need that Inkstrike if this plan needs to work, so please, keep yourselves from getting splatted at minimal as possible, and I'll tell you all how this plan will work out. Got it?"

All of them nodded, ready to comply with his plan. He'll have to take charge now if they have to win, and now, he has to keep their spirits high and mighty if this plan has to work like he expected to be, "First, though, we have to take back the centre and splat the entire team before we could think of the next plan. Ok, let the First Phase of this Plan be on motion. Let's do this, mates."

"Aiy!" They shouted in unison as Kthulhu's team proceeds back to the splattlefield in an attempt to take back the centre, all while trying to complete First Phase of their plan at the same time.

* * *

 _ **First Phase Complete**_

* * *

"Alright what's the next plan?" Raei asked after he splatted Rodhann who is trying to sneak up behind them along with Verique, while Yeran and Tarã is on guard of the centre. He and Kthulhu are the only ones left that are not yet splatted, with every Rising Tsunami's members are now splatted with the cost of two of their own that will be respawning at any second now.

"Next, is to preserve those Specials, and we will use it somewhere secure. We need that Inkstrike for this plan, so let's wait for Mika to Super Jump to us."

"For what was this Inkstrike for, though? I don't get it why the Inkstrike is the most important part of this plan."

"I thought you're smarter than this…"

"I'm more confused than dumb, so tell me about this plan of yours."

"Alright; after we kept Mika alive long enough for a comeback, she'll take out her Inkstrike in a more secured place, and then we will paint the very middle of the Inkstrike with some ink, and we will hide in it."

"Wait, so we are basically going to ride the Inkstrike? Isn't that against the rules, though, is it?"

"No, because there's nothing said about "No Riding Inkstrikes" Rule on their Official Rule Book, so we are good," Makes sense, since this story is not like the actual game after all, so simple logic and laws of physics will be safely implemented in this story. There's nothing better than writing a story about squids fight each other that is not like in the game itself, "Once we launch the thing and successfully land without getting spotted during the Inkstrike launch, we should be able to get out of the ink that we made, and go splat the rest of the team."

"So, we are basically gonna be trying the ancient humans' tactic, the _**Trojan Horse**_ or something like that. I like it, but can we really do that? It will be hard to see while we're in the air, so there's not much sight that would help us," Then, Trix and Mika has arrived via Super Jumping. Both boys glanced at Trix, and glances back at each other.

"Looks like we have already found a solution for that…"

* * *

 _ **Second Phase Complete**_

* * *

"Alright, Mika!" Trix shouted as they successfully pushed the Rising Tsunami back at the centre, with the two boys are absent, "We've pushed them back to the centre!"  
"Yes, I could see that," Mika sarcastically said, as she stopped firing a barrage by submerging back to their own ink in the platform they are on, "And my Special is ready to deploy."

"Then this should be fun…" The sniper lets her lips form a grin that tells that their plan is going according to plan, "Now go with the others, Mika. I'll hold them off at bay as long as I can!"

"Are you sure that being the bait is alright with you?"

"Actually, no, but if this means victory for our part, then I am only gonna hope it's worth it, and if it's not… welp, I gotta have to smack my idol for making me the bait."

"He's him after all, so we have to trust him."

"Yeah, yeah, he's my idol after all, and I admire him for being the best fighter I've ever seen. Now go! We don't have much time."

"A-alright, be careful out there," She then jumps down from the platform and lands behind the platform she was previously standing on. The last thing she heard before she is out of her earshot is Trix teasing or maybe taunting the Rising Tsunami, "Can't get through me, huh?" A few seconds later, she has arrived to the raised floor where Raei came out of during the first thirty seconds of the match, doing the _Bob Brush_ thing. She rendezvous with the boys of her team there, with their tentacle hair are also flowing and boiling with bubbles; their Specials are also ready. _Looks like the plan is going as it's has planned…_

"Here she is," Raei said as Mika turns back to her Inkling form, "Inkstrike's ready?"

"Yeah, ready to deploy," Mika answered as she approaches the two boys, "Ready you two?"

"As ready as we can be, Mika," He then glances back to Kthulhu, who is observing the wall next to his right, to the direction where Trix is holding them off, "You've prepared the signal, K?"

"Mmhm," Kthulhu answered, as he glances back to Raei and Mika, "Alright, when Trix got her Echolocator on, that's when we will book it and finish the final phase of the plan. If we execute this properly, we should be able to stand a chance and go-all-out again."

"Are you sure this will work, K?" Asked Mika, who is getting nervous by the second, "Remember the first time we go all out, hoo, good gracious, that didn't end well for all of us. Will this one work better than the last one we did?"

"Maybe…" Kthulhu answered so vaguely, it made her more nervous, "It will work, Mika, just have to believe in it, and everything will work out fine. If you believed in Tarã when you were battling with her and almost every plan she make worked out, then you can believe on us that this plan will work out as well."

This gave Mika some faith for Kthulhu and this plan, because what he said is right; she did believe in her captain of her team, she entrusted her with the plans that will usually lead them to victory, and these plans almost always worked out in the end, so having faith in Kthulhu, who is the one leading the Orange Team and the one who has been working hard for his plan to work, may not be so bad after all, "Then, I'll hope for the best of this plan of yours, Kthulhu."

"That's the spirit, Mika," He then lightly pats her shoulders, giving her some encouragement, "Keep it up and we will make get through this match victorious."

Mika nodded, as she puts up a smile on her face, showing a sign of confidence, a rare sight to behold of the shy Mikaela. She then joins the others to wait for Trix to activate her Echolocator.

The signal is soon sent when Trix has activated her Echolocator, giving away the Rising Tsunami's location. This is their cue to begin the Final Phase of the plan, "Now, Mika," Mika nodded as she activates her Special, the Inkstrike, as well, "Final Phase of the _**Trojan Inkstrike Payback**_ is in motion."

"Alright, let's get this on the sky!" Raei then immediately flicks his brush at the middle part of the Inkstrike, Orange Ink sticks into it, making it able for Inklings to hide and ride the Inkstrike. It's time… it's time to initiate the final phase of the plan of the _**Trojan Inkstrike Payback**_ ; is to actually execute it and ride the damn Inkstrike to the fray. Raei quickly turns to squid form and jumps to the Orange Ink he made on the Inkstrike, "Alright, Kthulhu! Time to ride this baby!"

Kthulhu nodded, as he impressively flips his way to the Inkstrike and immediately turned into his squid form as soon as he is about to hit the Orange Ink that is on the Inkstrike. You got to admire how hardcore and extreme he can get. Kthulhu then ordered, "Launch the Inkstrike, Mika!"

Never in her life had she pressed the fire button so fast, and the Inkstrike launched into the air, soaring through the sky with Kthulhu and Raei. After they reached the skies, they started to descent back to the ground, into the target location Mika has marked. On the way there, both squids heard Tarã shouted the name of the Special they are hiding and riding on to alert her teammates. A moment later of descending back down in high speeds, they landed on the marker, with Kthulhu and Raei as the Inkstrike expelled a gigantic and powerful ink tornado that could splat anyone in milliseconds.

As soon as they landed, Kthulhu immediately saw the name of his cousin, Tarã, in front of him. This is the perfect opportunity for a payback from splatting him earlier with the Double Kraken Combo, as he immediately sprinted to her direction, jumps into the air and started to do a barrel roll, and he once again released _**Krakenthulhu**_. After he transformed, he came out of the tornado, right in front of Tarã, and he rammed his head against her, immediately splatting her without letting her to react. After that, he later on jump backwards as soon as he splatted Tarã and quickly swims his way to the oblivious Rodhann. He pounces at the brownish squid, and before he could even turn around to face Krakenthulhu, he was met by a ram to the face by Krakenthulhu's pounce, splatting him as well.

In Raei's part, he came out of the Ink Tornado in unison with Kthulhu, with his Inkbrush ready to smack it on Yeran's face. Without hesitation, he smacked her face with his Inkbrush so hard with adrenaline, she stumbled and fell backwards. With her down to the floor, he puts an Ink Mine right between her thighs, making it explode a second later and it splatted her in an instant. The T.I.P. plan is working as they have expected, and now, the Rising Tsunami is going on a low tide after that.

Thanks to the well-placed Inkstrike placement, this gave Trix the opportunity to charge her E-Liter while her opponents are vulnerable, and decided to aim at Verique. She fired an almost fully charged shot at him, but he quickly notices her and he managed to dodge it. It was until that Mika arrived to her location, and she started to charge and fire an ink barrage at him, something couldn't make him dodge too many shots. She used this opportunity to keep him from seeing her shots, and she charges another shot for her E-Liter. A second has passed, she fired the shot away, and it turned Verique into a puddle of Orange Ink.

* * *

 _ **Final Phase Completed**_

 _ **T**_ _rojan_ _ **I**_ _nkstrke_ _ **P**_ _ayback_ _ **is a Major Success**_

* * *

"Yeah! Good work everyone! We have ultimately taken the centre for our team!" Raei shouted triumphant with their success with the plan, "But it isn't over yet! They can still retake the centre, and we ain't gonna let that happen!"

"Mates, this is the final push," Krakenthulhu said with a booming voice thanks to the Kraken, as he goes sliding his way to the very centre, "We have to keep them at bay and not let them take the centre for another time! It's time to take on to their base and fight them with the remaining thirty seconds!"

" _ **Thirty seconds left!**_ _"_ On cue, the automated speaker blared out of the speakers, announcing the remaining seconds of the match.

"Then, let's rock! Lads, quickly to their spawn!" Raei _raei_ llied as the two girls started to swim towards the two boys; Raei started to flick and flick to ink the centre, and Krakenthulhu went ahead and goes to their opponents' base before back to his Inkling form. There are no sign of the Rising Tsunami yet, but they will be respawning soon, so he has to be quick with this if he needs to win. So he started to ink their base, by starting with a Splat Bomb; he threw one on the ramp that near him, and he dived into it, submerging into ink briefly after it explodes. He then resurfaced again to shoot out Blasters shots at the Blue Ink that is on the Rising Tsunami's base.

That is until Tarã finally respawned, he stopped inking the base for a while as he backs off from her range. She then glares at Kthulhu with a wicked grin, and she exited the spawn point, and started charging and firing her Squiffer directed Kthulhu. He dodged it as backtracked and hoped backwards, as he submerged to his ink again to refill. Then Yeran respawned and started to help her out as she charges and fires her weapon at Kthulhu, yet even with the combined forces of the two snipers, they couldn't hit him because of his incredible speed and reflexes, as he continues dodge and dodge the shots with ease.

"Dammit, he freakin' moves and dodges like Kthulhu!" _Ergh_ , Kthulhu almost chocked at the sound of his name called out by Yeran. She is getting suspiscious, so must be Verique as well. _hrgh, someone must avert their attention before they could know it was me…_

"Who's that guy anyway!?" Tarã demanded as she fires another fully charged shot at Kthulhu, while the others respawned as well in their spawn point, "Are you having some weird new friends while I was gone or something?"

"You don't know him!? I thought he's your cousin or something!" _Cousin? I don't have a cousin named Cthulhu…_

 _Dammit, Yeran,_ he could hear his heart beating in Mach 5, but it didn't let that stop him, and he continues to dodge their shots, "I'll tell you later, let's take them out first and defend our spawn area!" Yeran then pointed at the direction to the centre; Raei came out and started to rapidly flicking his Inkbrush to ink the base with Orange Ink, Trix climbs up the platform where Yeran first used in the first minute of the match, and Mika came in and jumped down from the same platform as she started to charge and release ink barrages at their base.

"Merde, we are in a danger zone now! Everyone; go all out and defend our base!" Tarã commanded her team, as she started to target Kthulhu, who keeps dodging and dodging all of their shots without much effort or even breaking a sweat. Yeran, Verique, Rodhann, started to find a better location and they started to pick their targets.

In Raei's side, he continues on flicking and flicking, until he saw the Rising Tsunami coming towards, specifically the members of the Masquidteers. He glances back at his teammates, "Take care of the two! I'll go and assist our captain!" They nodded, as they started to target the approaching Masquidteer members and Raei quickly brushes his way past the two Inklings and went to assist their captain, all while activating his Bubbler and he gave his two teammates Bubblers as well, giving them better advantage against the Masquidteer members. He then brushes his way to Kthulhu…

He arrived to Kthulhu a two seconds later, but he was about to get squished by Rodhann's Splat Roller and a laser is pointing right in his face. _Nope, ain't happening today, bro_ , As soon as he got near, the Bubbler has been passed to Kthulhu in time, saving him from a quick splat, and instead, he got knocked back only by a few feet away from his current position. Kthulhu recovers quickly, and he bounces back to his original position and rammed onto Rodhann so hard he got knocked back further and his back hits the ground, along with Raei also smacking him the face with the Inkbrush. He falls on his back right beside the desk full of computers along with his roller that he lost grip of after he got rammed by the Bubbler.

He quickly shoots a Blaster shot at the vulnerable Rodhann, but he managed to dodge the direct hit by rolling his right, also removing the Orange Ink that is splattered across his face, but was hit on the back and heavily damaged by an indirect blast of the Blaster Shot. Stifling a grunt, as his back is lying on the floor again, he saw a sight of Raei lunging towards him, he is about to bring down his Inkbrush like a hammer about to smash the earth.

Before he was struck by the Inkbrush, he rolled again back to his original position after he got rammed, ignoring the Orange Ink that his back is lying on, and immediately grabs his Roller and hastily used it to block an incoming Inkbrush attack, with the bristles almost hits his face again. He then started to struggle defending himself from Raei, with his back on the floor, and the brush is about paint his face, until he kicked Raei away from him, breaking free from the hold, as he immediately stands up and started clashing with Raei.

At Kthulhu's side, he shoots out a Blaster shot that leads towards his cousin, which is by firing over the desk, inking it as well as the computers. He jumped over it in his squid form, dodging an incoming fire from her. She then throws a Suction Bomb right a few feet in front of him, but it didn't scare Kthulhu, and he runs past it as soon as it get stuck to the ground, continuing to Blaster shot his way to Tarã as it explodes.

While he tries to make his way to her, in Tarã's mind, she is starting to get agitated, and she is about to lose this fight. She can't take losing too well, so in an act of desperation, she decided to bayonet charge him after Kthulhu shoots out another Blaster shot, almost caught him off guard, as he got hit by Tarã bayonet charge. As soon as she hits him, she is about to release a almost fully charged shot at Kthulhu that she's been charging before she could hit him, but it missed the target, because Kthulhu quickly recovers, grabbed the long barrel of her Squiffer with his left hand, and quickly redirected it to his right. The shot almost hit Raei in the face.

After that, Kthulhu then points his Blaster at Tarã's face and fired another Blaster shot, but her head cocked to the left, dodging the Blaster's point blank shot other than the trail the blaster leaves with, which did little to no damage to her.

 _ **(10)**_ Kthulhu tried to shot another Blaster shot, albeit to the body for a guaranteed hit, but she didn't let him by grabbing the barrel of the Range Blaster and redirect it to her right as well, shot missed its target. _**(9)**_ Both on a cross hold, Kthulhu then, with no other choices left, he let go of her Squiffer and he quickly does his signature 360 degree spin move to his left, forcing Tarã to let go of his Blaster, _**(8)**_ and after he stopped spinning facing Tarã, his Blaster is now pointed at Tarã and is about to shot out another Blaster shot, but Tarã immediately hopped backwards, avoiding the shot, _**(7)**_ and fired a quick half-charged shot at Kthulhu, which also missed when he leaned backwards. _**(6)**_ Kthulhu then quickly dashed to Tarã, and dodges another half-charged shot from her Squiffer, hitting Rodhann in the back instead. They can hear an "OW!" in the background coming from him. _**(5)**_

Tarã was thinking of bayonet charging him again, but if he is what she thought he is, the same tactic will not work. But, she thought of doing something similar to that…

As soon as he got near, he was about to fire another Blaster shot at her, until he is stopped when Tarã is about to hit him again with a bayonet charge. She then thrusts her Squiffer at him, but he has seen through the attack, and dodged it. _**(4)**_ She missed thrust, but she then turns around, and she quickly aims her Squiffer at Kthulhu with a fully charge shot in it. _**(3)**_ She was about to release the charged shot of her Squiffer and splat Kthulhu, but he quickly dashed to her and grabbed the barrel of her Squiffer, and lifts it up to the sky, her charged shot missed. _**(2)**_ He then points his Custom Range Blaster and puts it right on her neck. Both looked at each other's eyes for a moment, letting Tarã have a glance at Kthulhu's faintly glowing green eye, _**(1)**_ before he pulls the trigger of his Blaster, splatting her one last time in the entire match. _**(0)**_

* * *

 **(GAME!)**

 _ **Blue – 35.8%**_

 _ **Orange – 52.9%**_

* * *

 _ **Team Orange Wins!**_

* * *

Kthulhu is panting quietly in exhaustion. This is just as tiring as the First Ranked Match with the Masquidteers against Zayd's team. All of those stunts and hard-earned preparation are worth it after all the trouble and difficulty they had to go through after during those whole two minutes, trying to keep Mika alive as long as possible and the rest of the Orange team for their plan to work. In the end, nothing has gone in vain, and the victory they earned is a worthy trophy to remember.

Both teams are now teleported back to the lobby…

* * *

The Rising Tsunami and Kthulhu's team are now completely teleported back to the lobby, albeit far apart from each other. Kthulhu glances back to his team; all of them are exhausted during the fight, with Raei is holding onto his knees and panting, Mika is sitting beside her Heavy Splatling, and Trix is on her knees, panting as well. This is also one tiring match, like some other matches Kthulhu and Raei played on, but this is by far the most tiring one today.

"Wow… we freakin' did it…" Mika weakly said, due to exhaustion, "Baik pertolongan, what a… match that was…"

"Yeah, damn, couldn't be more tired than this…" Trix said as she tries to stand up, but had difficulty doing so due to exhaustion of the match.

 _Déjà vu really hits you hard right in the face…_

He then glances back at their Rising Tsunami; Tarã's head is lowered while she rubs her neck with her free left hand. That might've hurt, literally, her neck got blown to pieces during the final seconds of the match, and figuratively, her pride must've also blown to pieces along with it. Yeran and Verique looks the same that time they got exhausted after their First Ranked Match together. Rodhann is leaning at the lobby wall, probably exhausted as well as the rest.

He didn't waste any more time, as he lightly nudges at Raei, who is just by his left, "Yo?"

"I'm out. Don't want to get caught by those two," He pointed at Yeran and Verique, "You guys act natural as long as possible."

Raei nodded, understanding what he meant, "Alright, go, before they notice you leave."

And there, he immediately walks his way to the exit. He was about to leave the Battle Lobby, until something or someone tugged him by the left shoulder, making him stumble to the right and changed direction he is facing that is hopefully away from the direction the Rising Tsunami is in, and forcefully pulls down his hood as well as his bandana. _Anak ng pating…_ Looks like his disguise didn't worked out so well, as he saw Yeran went in front of him, staring at his double colored eyes. A second of staring at each other, her suspicion turns out to be true as a big smile slowly forms on her lips.

"I knew it was you! I freakin' knew it!" Yeran shouted in excitement, as she throws her hands up in the air, "You thought you could hide yourself behind that hood and bandana of yours, eh?"

Speechless, his eyes averted their gaze away from Yeran, bashfully saying, "Dammit, Yeran… You got me…"

"Hey, don't forget about me, lad," Verique came out of nowhere beside Yeran, "I was suspicious as well, y'know."

"So much for acting natural, I guess," Raei approached Kthulhu with a sarcastic and amused grin.

Yeran then glances to someone behind me, assuming she's glancing at Tarã, "Hey, Tarã! Come here, and let me introduce you to Kthulhu!" _Faq Sheeeet…_

"Alright, alright, who's this Cthulhu guy, anyway?" He heard Tarã's voice behind him, "Unless I see his face, I wouldn't know who he is."

"Come on, K, turn around! I'd like to meet you our Captain of the Rising Tsunami!" Yeran urged. Kthulhu looked at Raei for a moment; he shrugged, as he also urges him to look behind him without his disguise on. _Sigh… here goes nothing…_ He can't really hide himself forever from Tarã, his other cousin, and from his sister, Kyla, and they will eventually know who he is. With every heartbeat, he gains up the courage to finally turn around, meeting his cousin again after two and a half years…

* * *

 _That… hurt…_ I winced as I rubbed my neck to ease the pain of getting blasted on the neck by the Custom Range Blaster. That 'Zhed' guy, or possibly, 'Cthulhu', whoever he is, is pretty damn good. He's not fearful of any danger he is freaking facing, and he's pretty quick that he could dodge my shots even at point blank range. And cousin? What does she mean? I don't remember having a cousin named Cthulhu… whoever named that guy sure has a bad taste of picking names.

"So, tell me Yeran," I glanced at Yeran, who is recovering from exhaustion, "Who is this… 'Cthulhu' guy you are talking about? I don't remember having a cousin named like that."

"You… seriously don't know him?" Yeran, dumbfounded, asked as she stretches her back, "I thought you would know him…"

"That's why you tell me who the mierda is he." I demanded as I put my Fresh Squiffer behind my back.

"Y'know what? I'll just show you what he looks like, ok? Come follow me." Yeran then runs up to Zhed, who is about leave the Battle Lobby. I have to follow her before she does anything rude...

 _Tch,_ _she already did_ , Yeran then tugs Zayd, making his back facing towards us, and takes off both of his hood and bandana, revealing his four orange long and untied tentacle hair with red tips that is reaching his shoulders. Weird, he somehow looks like Yhavin if you look at his back. By the looks of it, she definitely found this Cthulhu guy, as she's shouting, "I knew it was you! I freakin' knew it!" Let's see who's this guy…

"Welp, looks like he is Kthulhu," Verique remarked, as he walk to Yeran's side, "Hey, don't forget about me, lad. I was suspicious as well, y'know."

"Well, so much for being natural," Raei then approaches the three; his face is amused and quite sarcastic.

Natural… he's hiding from someone or something? I couldn't think about it more when Yeran glances at me, "Hey, Tarã! Come here, and let me introduce you to Kthulhu!"

Always the eager squid, "Alright, alright, who's this 'Cthulhu' guy, anyway?" I asked, an eyebrow rose, "Unless I see his face, I wouldn't know who he is." Since she is always referring Cthulhu as one of my cousins, I don't know if what she said is true or she's just messing with me. Seriously, I have no idea who is this guy is.

"Come on, K, turn around! I'd like you to meet our Captain of the Rising Tsunami!" A title I am proud of.

He didn't immediately turn around to face me. What's so shy about? It's not like I'll bite. I've waited for a quite a while, he finally turned around, giving me a better look… on his… face… Wait… "Cthulhu", as he turned to face me, has two other shoulder-length tentacle hair, has a two piece moustache, one from each side of his lips, and… closed… eyes… like hers…

 _ **No**_ _…_

 _It can't be…_ I could feel my eyes widened at the sight of his face in shock.

"-he's the one who… Tarã, are you ok…?" Yeran worrying asks.

I ignored her question, as my focus is on "Cthulhu." Both of my shaking hands started lift up to my lips, covering my mouth, but that couldn't hide the shock that I felt wave through me. And there, my vision begins to get misty, and I could feel water forming on my eyes upon the realization. I couldn't hide it… I couldn't hide and hold the shock of the realization that I am now looking…

… _**at my own cousin**_ , _my cousin that we have thought went missing two years ago_ …

"Tarã…" 'Cthulhu' called out my name, marking the point that I have now lost it.

"… i-is that r-really you?" I struggled to say, as I say the name of my long-lost cousin.

"… _**Kael**_?"

* * *

 _ **A/U**_ _– And that's a wrap! It is finally revealed to Tarã the cousin she, Kyla, and Sero thought to have went missing for the last two and a half years now! And of course, me, the Author and my subordinates, the Narrator, and the Editor has agreed that we will end it with one of our specialties; leaving a cliffhanger in every chapter, that's what. *evil laugh* :D And it ain't over yet! The story is just beginning to unfold it's drama between Kthulhu, or in this case, Kael's cousins and his sister, Kyla. Next chapter we will see what happens next after the confrontation between Tarã and Kael!_

 _Also, like the return of the fight during the last few seconds of the match? I''ll call that **Ten Second Countdown Fight** , and it will be the term for the event fight between two battlers or even a team during the ten second final countdown of a match. It will be prominent here in the Kthulhu Arc during important Turf War matches that involves intense fights, like the one in the Duel._

 _Anyway, thanks for reading the chapter! If you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **Now the fun part, begins…**_

 _ **Development starts - Tomorrow/After upload**_

 _ **Chapter will be uploaded in – Middle of June**_


	9. Reunion I (Cousins)

_**A/N**_ _– The first time I uploaded behind schedule my schedule… whoops._

 _Sorry for the delay, I got some… other plans that I have in mind during the mid of June, so I'm sorry to make you all wait, now, I have the chapter done, and it is full of dialogue and maybe drama this time. Enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 9 –**_ _Reunion_ _ **I**_ _(Cousins)_

* * *

 _There she goes…_

 _She said my real name…_

 _Kael…_ _ **Kael Yun Zhao**_ _…_

Well, so… uhh… I think we'll have to call Kthulhu **'Kael'** at the moment. The Author is contemplating whether or not he'll call him by his nickname again in future chapters and stories.

Back to the story; the two cousins stand still in front of each other, with Kael suddenly felt a wave of emotions swirling and churning in him, and Tarã stands there with a shocked expression and misty eyes, her tears are threatening to fall down to her cheeks. She's in disbelief, but she knows that she's looking at the same cousin they thought went missing for two and a half years.

Looking at his cousin's facial expression, it was a painful sight, and he couldn't contain eye contact with her as he looked away to his right in guilt. He couldn't handle seeing his cousin's face without feeling guilty and/or sadness mixing inside his heart like two big chunks of clay with different colours mashed together to create one lump of messy clay.

Kael could feel eyes of those of his teammates and Tarã's Rising Tsunami members on the two cousins, tense and confused about what's going on. They are asking questions to each other, to Tarã, and to Kthulhu, but both cousins ignored it as they are too focused with their emotions to notice or even mind the questions they are asking. They started to add up to the already tense atmosphere both of the cousins felt, and it gets worse with more question are getting asked.

What should he do? What should Kael do in front of his own cousin? Just look away and wait for her response? Or should he response to her and face her? He is unprepared for this encounter, his heart is beating faster than his sprint, and his anxiety only makes it even worse.

 _No… I can't just look away in shame…_ He thought, _I don't wanna look like a complete asshat in front of my own cousin that I adored so much when I was with them two years ago…_ He has to look at her in the eye, and tell her that he's sorry for leaving them so suddenly. He has to _… he needs to…_

He then looks back to his cousin, "Tarã, I'm-"

 _SLAP!_

Tarã, who is already in front of him, slapped Kael right in his left cheek, making his head flinch to the right and wince at the surprisingly strong slap. This made him open his red and green eyes involuntary in shock, surprised by the strength of Tarã's slap that hits his left cheek. _Damn, did she go to the gym often, or her hands are just naturally that strong…?_ His eyes didn't stay opened for long as he quickly closes it, and his expression quickly mellowed out into sadness, as his head looks down at the floor again.

The slap was so strong; the sound can be heard all across the lobby, and it immediately silenced them, and everyone slowly backs away from the two cousins a little.

"K-Kael, where h-have you been…?" Tarã asks him; as tears slowly falls down to her cheeks, her eyes couldn't hold it hold it any longer, "W-where have you been after all of those years…?"

Without an answer, he slowly looks at her with a mellow, guilt-ridden and sorrowful expression on his face; only to look back to the floor his eyes were interested in, "Tarã…"

"Tell me, Kael!" She demanded, but this time, with a more powerful and angry tone on her voice with a tinge of sorrow and sadness also mixed in her voice, "Where were you've gone and disappear to!?" Kael didn't answer, as sounds of gasping of other Inklings that are inside the Lobby came plunging into his ears. The truth has been revealed to those who don't know about it, and to those he lied to.

She kept going, emotions have taken over her, "T-The day you disappeared from Karaga along with Uncle Kyro, Kyla… she couldn't stop… s-she couldn't stop crying…" Kael's heart immediately dropped in an instant, feeling his heart break into a million pieces once again. Back in the day, she couldn't stand to see his sister cry, and he is always there for her whenever no one is there to comfort her. Now, his guilt and regret is immeasurable now after he lets her live without a brother by her side for two and a half years. He made a mistake by looking back to her, as he is now facing her with a sullen expression, and her fingers are pointing at Kael's chest, "And it's all your fault that you made her cry in her room for four days!" As if _that_ didn't worsen it…

Her misty Orange eyes are now directly at Kael, she then spreads out her three other fingers and places it on his chest before saying, " _Four days_ , Kael! _**FOUR DAYS**_ , she locked herself crying in her room, and it's all because you and Uncle Kyro vanished without a hint or trace of where you have gone to!" Her hand then formed a fist that is now resting on his chest, "During those days… we-we've been looking for you two… Papa, Mama, Aunty, Serõ, even our friends back there… we all tried to look everywhere…" She said through her sobs and tears, as she looks down at the Lobby floor, letting her tears fall down without touching her cheeks.

"…with everything leads to damn nothing…" He could feel her fist tighten on his chest and he feels he is getting slightly pushed by the chest, " _Nada de mierda_ , _Kael_!" She pulls her fist away slightly from Kael, and she puts it back by punching his chest. Her punch is not as strong as her slap, but it still pushed him one step back, expression unmoved, " _ **NADA DE MIERDA! NADA!**_ " And there, she broke into sobs in sorrow, with her tears are now freely flowing from eyes in a fast pace.

Everyone is in complete silent, as the gloomy atmosphere is being strengthened by the sobs from her and with every tear dropped to the floor from her eyes. Kael, for the second time, felt stumped and he has no idea what to do. Seeing is cousin cry and shouts out her emotions to him, just left him frozen, and a gives him a big punch in the gut thanks to it.

With his closed eyes, he observes the surrounding Inklings in the Lobby; all we're glancing at each other silently, surprised and confused of her outburst. Even Yeran and Verique couldn't comprehend easily to what is going in front of them, and are left speechless and with a look mixed with confusion, surprise, and sympathy for both of their captains.

His eyes then looked back at his crying cousin; her fist still on his chest, looking down, and her tentacles are hanging like threads. The long he looks at her and listens to her sobs, the more hesitant and frozen he gets, and he still has no idea what to do. He wanted to hug her, but he can't move his body. He wanted to speak to her with something that could comfort her, but he can't open his mouth either. His is dead cold standing in front of his cousin, waiting for a movement from either himself or from Tarã.

But the longer he waits, the urge is getting powerful and is about to overpower his hesitance of doing anything. He doesn't want to see her like this, and he definitely doesn't want to stand around there moping just because of his own anxiety. He needs to do something… he can't just stand… He must do something…

Sadly, he wasn't able to do anything again, as Tarã begins to lifts up her head slowly; her eyes are slightly blue from the corners, hurt from crying her tears out. She then weakly said, "…W-Why…? Why do you… have to come back _now_ …? Why… didn't you come back…" She started to lower her head down, and Kael felt her fist is starting to loosen up and weaker, which in his case, knowing her well enough during his childhood, is not a good sign, "… _why didn't come back… when we needed you the most…?_ " And there, she went limp and is about to hit the floor face first.

"Ghh…!" Eyes widened in shock, he stifled a gasp and he hastily and frantically catches his cousin, hearing again the shocked gasps of everyone inside the Lobby, started to say things his ears couldn't make out, as he was too focused on Tarã. Realizing she had passed out due to stress and maybe depression, he crouched down and he adjusted her limp and unconscious body to hold her firmly in his arms. Verique and Yeran immediately crouched besides Kael.

"Tarã! W-What happened to her?!" Yeran frantically asked, worried about her friend's condition.

"She passed out," Kael answered, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. She'll be awake for the next few minutes."

"Will she really be alright?" Verique asked, "I've… never seen 'zhis side of her. 'Zhis… emotional breakdown…"

"Yeah, she will be…" He answered in a reassuring tone, "For now, let's take her home, lay her on a bed, and let her rest."

"B-But how will we get her home if she is like this?" Rodhann asked in a very frantic tone, his roller is on his back, "We can't let people see her like this."

He's right; if other Inklings saw them carrying her in that state, they might eye on them suspiciously, or worse, a friend of hers saw her and it will only make things more complicated than it should be. Luckily, Kael had a solution for that problem; he moved out Tarã's left tentacle hair aside, exposing her ear in that side. He then moves his fingers behind her ear, firmly grabs a small ink muscle from her neck that is near the left ear, and twists it gently, turning her into her squid form almost in an instant.

"Wha…?" Rodhann, along with the other Inklings inside except for Tarã, are surprised at what he just did.

"Everyone has that, so don't be too surprised," Kael then stands up with his cousin in squid form in his arms. He then puts her squid form into the pocket of his big hoodie, perfectly fitting in. Then, he puts on his hood and adjusts his Skull Bandana up to cover the lower part of his face, "Alright, lead me to her house, whoever knows where it is…"

* * *

 **Location** **:** Inkopolis Suburbs

 **Time** **:** 11:43PM

* * *

The Rising Tsunami, Masquidteers, and Trix have successfully ran their way to Tarã's home without raising any suspicion from the crowd. Tarã hasn't woken up yet during the run, but it's alright; no one wants to wake up inside someone's hoodie pocket in their squid form. They arrived to the house in just a few minutes of running to the de Rodrigo household; it is a medium sized two-story house with the second floor is a little bit to the stone walls that are six feet tall, and a metal door. The house itself has grey walls, with light brown roof, and a balcony that is on the second floor of the house, possibly where a bedroom is located.

 _So this is where they live in_ , The Suburbs is rather big for an industrial area. Verique then opened the gate to make way for Kael as be enter first. Behind the walls, in his right has a small garden that has various flowers planted in the garden. In his left, there's a room that looks like a garage, despite having no open pathways for vehicles to come out. Then again, it doesn't look like a car would likely to fit into that garage. Believe it or not, that is actually a thing that the de Rodrigo's would put in a house, because their father is a-

 _Not now narrator, just get your focus on us and not on our family history, dammit_ , Ok, ok, whatever. Back to the present!

After Kael has entered, the others followed him inside, as he tries to open the door, but soon discovers that it is locked. _Of course it's locked_ , no one is stupid enough to their house unlocked when they leave their comfort zone. He then looks back to his companions, and asked, "Are there any other way to go inside?"

"Balcony!" Yeran shouted as she points out to the balcony that is on top of the garage. She receives a disapproving look from Verique.

"We can't just go through 'zhere, Yeran," Verique protested, "What if someone saw us and think we're... what do Lapunians call them again...?"

"Mga 'akyat-bahay?" answered Kael.

"Yeah, that one."

"What does that mean, Kael?" Yeran glances at Kael with a curious look.

"Other words for Robbers or Burglars or Trespassers that goes up to your house through the roof and snatch some shit up."

"Oh, ok."

"But we don't have choice, though," Raei added as he goes beside Kael, who takes out Tarã's squid form from his pockets, and holds it in his arms, "Nobody wants to be seen by someone while we wait here in the front door. People will also be suspicious either way, anyway."

"Ehh, I dunno, lad," Verique scratches his head, "It doesn't felt right to just go in through _there_. And the door there might be even locked, and it's way too convenient if it's not even locked!"

"We'll soon find out," Raei then pats his fist two times on Kael's shoulders to gain his attention. He then bobs his head to the left, motioning to do something for him. Kael nodded, who seems to know what he is about to do, as he puts Tarã back to his pocket. With free hands, Raei then turns into his squid form and jumped to Kael's right palm. His squid form is quite heavy, but he can still easily lift him and threw him to the balcony possibly to the room to either of the de Rodrigo siblings.

As he thrown past the balcony railings, Raei turned back to his Inkling form, and attempted to slide the balcony door. It conveniently opened, meaning either the siblings have locked the doors as they left the house.

"You say?" Yeran glances at Verique with a sarcastic expression.

"That is a little too convenient..." Verique answered, frowning.

"Alright, door's open," Raei announced, as leans over the balcony railings, "Kthulhu, hand me Tarã over, this is her and her brother's room, I'll lay her on the bed before I open the door."

Kael then takes Tarã's squid form, approaches Raei on the balcony of the house, and hands her over to him. Both him and Raei are tall enough for Raei to grab her, and lifts her up to him, "Ok, give me a moment, I'll open up the door after I put her to bed," He then disappears inside the bedroom.

* * *

 **Later…**

* * *

The group then waited for about a minute at the de Rodrigo front door. While they wait, some of them asked some questions, mostly from the members of both Tsunamink and the Masquidteers, regarding to the relation between the de Rodrigo siblings and their cousin, Kael, and they talk about for a while. He answered every question they throw at him, while he and the others talks about it for a while. Surprisingly enough for Kael, no one asked about what she said about his supposed "disappearance."

One of the Inklings, specifically Rodhann, suggested that they should call her brother, Serõ, to inform of what happened to Tarã. He thought about it for a moment, and he was initially against it, since he doesn't want to meet up with him yet, but he thoughts about it again for another moment, and decided to let them call Serõ about the situation. He was her brother, so he deserves to know about this, or things will only get too complicated if he didn't get informed. Verique then volunteers to call Serõ as he goes a few feet away from the group as he dialed his number of on his phone.

Before they continue their conversation and after Verique have finished calling him, they heard the door open from the inside, as Raei came out behind it, and motioned everyone to come in.

Inside the house, it has walls that have the same color as the wall outside of the house, just with more things inside; there's a couch set that is placed in front of a flat screen TV that is attached on the right wall of the house. In between of the couch and TV, there is a glass table with metal legs, and a wooden table underneath the TV, that contains a SquidBox One and a InkCube in it, as well games from perspective consoles. _Nice, hope they have Cephalopod Arena in that game collection..._

Next to the couch and TV, has a collection of pictures of both siblings. He went over to it, and he saw both Tarã and Serõ in a picture, with Tarã smiling happily with her fingers formed a peace sign and her left arm around Serõ, while he smiles timidly. Serõ has green five piece spikey tentacle hair, and he looks like their father, Gyro de Rodrigo. _He has grown up to be a young man, although by the looks of this picture he still looks timid as heck, just like I know him back in the day..._

He then looks to his left, he saw a table set with four chairs in each side, with the kitchen around the table, with a window that shows the backyard that is just above the sink, a door that leads to the backyard, another door that may lead to the bathroom, and an electric fan right beside the fridge. It's the house's dining and obviously the kitchen area, which is pretty decent sized.

He then looks behind him, seeing a staircase that probably leads to the bedroom or maybe some set of rooms.

 _This looks like a house a Lapunian would live in_ , then again, the de Rodrigo siblings are half-Lapunian _and_ half-Valearican, so it is to be expected that they will get a home like this.

Kael then glances back to Raei, who's at the stairs glancing at Kael as well, "Eiy, Kthulhu, she's upstairs, room on the left. Be seein' ya there, lad," Raei said to Kael before he disappears with Yeran and Verique upstairs, leaving him, Trix, Mika, and Rodhann in the living room. The four of them glance at each other for a few seconds, before nodding to each other, as they follow Kael up the stairs.

The four Inklings entered the room, with Kael going in first, then Mika, Trix, and lastly Rodhann. Tarã's room is a medium-sized bedroom with light purple-blue walls and ceiling, with the sliding door that leads to the balcony Raei entered from, the bed with purple bed covers and blanket is on the middle of the room, a long desk that is placed on the left side of the bed with a desk lamp and a laptop on it, a TV in front of the bed and a polished wooden desk below the table, and a closet that is just on the right side of the bed. This is... basically the room that Tarã used to have back in Karaga, just with different arrangements, and in a different house.

Laying on the bed is the squid form of his own cousin, eyes closed and resting peacefully with a blanket covering her lower squid body, with Yeran and Verique is on the right side on the bed, sitting on chairs while watching over her, and Raei is leaning on the wall beside the TV.

"I'll be back," Kael said as he exits the room again, and goes back down stairs that leads back to the living room. In the corner, there are a stack of chairs there, total of eight chairs stacked with each other. He took out five from the stack together, takes out another two from the same stack he is carrying for easier carrying and he goes back upstairs with it without having too much difficulty, "Here, take a seat."

The remaining Inklings that are stood up took a seat from the chair stacks he brought up into the room. They take their respective seats and sits down; as well Kael taking the last chair, drags it to the left side of the bed, and sits on the chair, as he watches over the unconscious squid form of his cousin.

"Welp… here we are…" Raei said, as he leans forward, putting both of his arms onto his knees, "You finally met up with your cousin, albeit in a… completely unexpected way possible…" He then sighed, while slightly shakes his head. He didn't expect the encounter between Kael and Tarã would make such a scene back in the Lobby, neither do the others would expect such an emotional outburst from her.

Neither do Kael; neither did he expect that his reunion with one of his cousin will be literally a slap to the face full of emotions, "Yeah… not the way I wanted to go through…"

Silence ensues as all of them watch over the unconscious Tarã on her bed.

* * *

"Alright, that's it for now," Yhavin announced as he takes off his Splash Goggles and got out of the Lobby that is underneath the Inkopolis Tower along with us members of Maverinks, "I think it's time for lunch."

"AHH, finally! We could eat!" shouted a Girl Inkling beside me that has Orange Tentacle Hair with Purple Tips and light pink eyes, wearing Squidvader Cap, Navy Stripped LS, and Orange Arrows, while carrying her Aerospray PG with her right hand, "I'm really hungry after those hours of matches. Don't cha agree, Sero?"

"E-Eh, Yeah, si, si, I agree," I timidly answered with a little bit of stutter as I scratch my head with a free hand. I'm not too good on socializing with others than my own sister and Kyla, even if I already knew her for at least a good amount of time. Not that I'm too shy and/or timid, but…

"Aww, come on, me amigo," she wraps her left arm around me, "Put some more energy on ye' voice, Sero. You have some dashin' good looks, and you act like a shy and timid little squid." … she's just a little too flirtatious for my taste. It makes me anxious around her when she gets all flirty and physical… and I don't mean in the wrong way, either…

"Quit it, Leora, you're making me uncomfortable," I protested as I gently push her away from me, making her playful frown at me. Before she can even speak, the pockets on my short vibrated loudly, making me shift my attention to it and grabs the phone from my pocket; Verique's calling. He wasted no time pressing the green _answer_ button, and puts it beside my left ear, "Hola, Verique."

"Hallo, Sero," The caller greeted back, but he sounds a little anxious and distressed.

"What seems to be the matter? You sound strange."

"Well, ehem… I have something urgent to tell you."

 _Something urgent?_ This is one of the rare moments that Verique called to us with something like that, but his voice definitely tells something is wrong. It made me suddenly nervous and I felt something wrong in the air, "W-What is it?"

"Erhm… it's… it's regarding about Tarã," My heart suddenly dropped when I heard my sister's name, "She… passed out after a match."

 _W-What…?_ My eyes widened in shock, and I remained frozen standing still of the sound of what happened to my sister.

"Is something wrong, Sero?" Yhavin asked worriedly, noticing my facial expression. Too shocked to answer, I continued listening to Verique, saying that I should come there if I wanna know why and how did she faint. It's not the thing I like to hear when it comes to something that happened to my sister, but I complied anyways before I hang up the call.

After the call, I stood there, still frozen and shocked after hearing the news about what happened to my sister, with so many questions in my head that are swirling like a whirlpool. Yhavin and Leora worriedly ask if there's something wrong, but I kept ignoring them, as I was still in disbelief that my sister have fainted for the first time again in years. Another moment later, without paying attention to my teammates, I started to sprint my way back to my house without stopping, ignoring their please to wait up.

 _Hold on, Tarã. I'm coming!_

* * *

"Do you think she really is alright, Kthu- I mean, _Kael_?" Yeran asks in concern, as Kael watches over the unconscious squid resting on her bed, "Her… outburst really took a toll on her badly."

"Don't worry, Yeran, it's nothing too serious like a heart attack or something like that," Kael reassuringly said as he glances at Yeran, "she just fainted because of stress…"

"Oh, man…" Rodhann let out a worried sigh, as he scratches the back of his head, "She really got worked up back there thanks to that little scene. I haven't this side of her, this… emotional side of her, until now. I don't know if she really will be alright after that."

"Yeah, she's usually happy, lively, and really confident, not like this… sad and…" Yeran stopped, having difficulty saying the next word that could describe Tarã's hidden side. It really pains her to see one of her best friends like this, as well as the others in this room.

"I know, Yeran…" Kael sympathizes with his friends as he gazes back to his cousin, "I know…"

The room's air has been filled with a gloomy atmosphere as they fell into silence again and continued to wait for Tarã to wake up. With every second passes of waiting for her to wake up from passing out earlier, the worried expression and anxiety from some of the Inklings in the room has strengthen the gloomy atmosphere that covered the entire room. The silence was finally broken when Verique grabbed Kael's attention with a question, "So, uhh, Kael… about what she said earlier before she… y'know, passes out… Is it true 'zat you have gone missing before 'zey started Turf Warring?"

He could sense the nervous that is within his tone of voice as he glances to him, maybe fearing that the subject he asked about is a touchy subject to Kael. He did answer his question, by saying, "If I were to answer in her perspective, yes, I went missing, along with my father. But…" He paused for moment, as memories started to flood in to his mind again.

"But what?"

"… but in truth, I didn't really go missing… it's more like, I got taken away by my own father."

"What? Taken away?" Verique couldn't contain his surprise, and it also grabs the attention of the other Inklings in the room, even Raei, who has already heard the story, Wait, why? Your father had a fight 'vwith your mother or-"

"No," Kael flatly answers as he abruptly cuts him off before he could even continue with his ridiculous guess, a little offended, "Him and my mother loved each other unconditionally, and that will never change."

This made Verique receives an elbow from Yeran, who also shot him an annoyed look, "Don't jump into conclusions so quickly, Verique, geez!" Yeran retorted as she elbowed him to the side of his body.

Ignoring Yeran, he continued to ask, "'Zen why? 'Zhere must be a specific reason why he has to take you away to whatever place 'zat place is…" Everyone who is conscious, then looked, other than Raei, expectantly at Kael, waiting for a reasonable answer that he can give them. He didn't answer immediately, contemplating if whether or not it would be a good idea to tell them the very reason why and how he got the moves he did during the Duel and during the battle between his team and the Rising Tsunami. He felt like telling them about his training with Kyro, as he felt that he trusts them enough, including Trix, and the other two members of the Rising Tsunami that he only met a few minutes ago. They deserve to know as well, since they are friends with Tarã, and anyone who is friends with her is also a friend of his.

He then took a deep breath before he finally answers the anticipating Inklings, "To train me."

"To train you?" Yeran repeated in confusion, "For what, exactly?"

"He trained me because of some… really strange premonitions he is getting. And one of those premonitions came to reality…" _A harsh reality_ …

"I suddenly got a bad feeling about that statement you just said," Yeran commented, who became uneasy, "So… uhh, if you don't mind me asking, what is this _premonition_ exactly?"

The question immediately gives him flashbacks that are beginning to flood back into his mind yet again; a memory about his father telling the premonitions he is getting, and a memory of his father dying in front of him, saying his final words and wishes before melting and merging with his favourite tree. Those memories always haunt him till this day, and it won't go away soon while he's alive and kicking.

He went silent again, but only for a few moments, as he answers her question, "Not now, maybe some other time. I don't want to remember these bad times at the moment," Not until he is comfortable enough to tell everyone inside about the full story before the start of his TW Career. This is not the time to relive all of those painful memories, especially not the place to do so.

He could hear the disappointment from her sigh, but she seems to quickly understand, as she tried to change the topic, "From the voice of yours, I think you've been through some tough shet. Well, I can't push you from telling us either if that's the case. So, is this how you get all of those badass moves that do during the Duel and from the previous battles that we fought on?"

"Yeah, most of my techniques I got from training with my father, at least. The rest of them are made with my own improvision."

"Wait, so you redirecting that Inkstrike is just you improvising, not something your own father taught?" Trix deducted. Actually, Kyro did _told_ him about him redirecting an Inkstrike during his prime, but not actually teaching him about how he do it, saying that he'll learn it someday. Well, that someday happens to be during the Duel.

"Uh-huh, what do I suppose to do during that, run away from it? Besides, I don't think I would've dodged it; that Inkstrike looked big enough to cover the entire centre. And also, I was just too angry to run away." He then glances at Raei, who just rolled his eyes with a frown. _Tinker pa more, bruh_...

"Fair enough, I guess…" _Hmm, that she might've noticed too,_ the size of that Inkstrike is barely noticeable unless you managed to grab it and maybe even try redirecting it, which is no easy feat and something that is pretty much prohibited in an actual Turf War match. An Official says so after the match.

"Really? He redirected a freakin' Inkstrike?" Rodhann asked Trix, baffled and a little bit in disbelief, "No way can he redirect that damn thing. I haven't watched the supposed-" He then raises both two hands at head level, with the middle and index fingers in each hands pointed up, doing the quote-on-quote gesture, "' _Duel_ ' whatever that is, but there's no way he could redirect an Inkstrike without breaking any liquid bones or whatever or leave unscathed."

"Well, if you have watched the Duel, then you'll be awed for what he did. It's freakin' badass!" Then the two continued to have a friendly exchange regarding the Duel, with Mika joining in the conversation and Raei watching the interaction between the three of them.

"Hmm, almost all of 'zhose techniques are training," Verique said as he rubs his chin, "Training must've been difficult to achieve 'zhose moves, am I correct?"

 _That is an understatement, I went through hell just to get my physical strength that I have now_ , the training Kyro gave him is effective, but… hoo boy, Kyro is very strict when it comes to training his son. Details of the training will be told some other time, "Yeeaah… _difficult_ …" Kael's eyes rolled behind his closed eyes. They never knew the hardships and hell he went through during the training, but at least he can tell that all of those training didn't go to waste and it was damn worth it.

"Am I wrong?"

"No," Before they continue, everyone conscious in room heard a metal door creaking outside. Verique looked behind him, stood up from his chair, and went to the room's balcony.

Another second later, he looked back to the room, and said, "Serõ's here." Then, they heard a voice with a slight Valearican accent, "Verique! Is Tarã there?"

"Ja, she's here, safe and sound sleeping on her bed!" He answered as he looked down over the Balcony, "Wait there, I'll open the door!"

"Please, be quick!" Verique then ran out of the room and goes downstairs to open the door for him. _Oh boy, meeting two cousins in one day…_ Oh my…

As Verique goes downstairs to open the door, they can hear Verique and Serõ talking downstairs, although they couldn't make what their saying. Except for Kael, who hears them talking about Tarã's condition. Serõ's voice is in distress, really concerned for his sister's condition, while Verique tried to calm him down and saying that it will be alright. He then heard another voice that is somehow familiar to him, asking what happened. Verique then answered with a short explanation of the situation, and he offered to go upstairs to Tarã for further explanation, and they immediately heard rapid and frantic footsteps from the stairs. He's coming…

After a few rapid footsteps that are getting louder and louder as he got up the stairs, he finally arrived and enters his sister's room, panting. Serõ looks exactly like in the picture; orange five piece spike tentacle hair that are in the above of his forehead, blue eyes, and the face that looks like his father. He wears Pilot Goggles that are on his forehead, Squid Layered LS, and Zombie Hi-Horses, and his expression is frantically concerned and anxious.

"W-Where's Tarã?" He demanded with concern, as he glances to the bed. His head couldn't get any wider as he slowly approaches the bed, "… w-what happened? How did this happen?" He then glances to Kael, who is watching over Tarã's unconscious squid form, "…and who are you…?"

Without answering, Kael slowly looked up to Serõ to let him have a look on his face. It took a moment for Serõ to finally recognize him, and his eyes couldn't get any wider that it already is in shock, "Wait… is that… really you…?"

Kael slowly stood up, towering his male cousin for about two feet, and there, he confronted one of his cousins that both haven't seen each for a long time. "Hey there…"

"I… oh mi mierda…" Serõ couldn't contain his immense shock, as he slowly and shakily back away one step from Kael, his cousin that he thought have went missing for two and a half years, suddenly returned to them, "I… I can't believe… my eyes… Kael, is that…"

"Paniwalaan mo ang iyong mga mata…" Kael said in Lapunian, "Ako talaga to… _long time no see,_ Serõ…"

* * *

 _ **A/N**_ _– And that's a wrap! The Reunion of the Cousins has begun! Tarã has finally met with her long lost cousin, but not in a very… happy way. After she spat out some of the hardships that she, her brother, and Kyla have went through during his absence, it costs her to fall to a state of unconsciousness due to the intense stress and her emotional outburst. Her brother,_ _Serõ, was informed about it, and immediately rushed home to check on her, only to meet up with Kael that along with his brother and Kyla have to went missing. Will they be able to reconcile and relive the good times they had since they were a child? You'll see that in the next chapter!_

 _Hah! The Master of Cliffhangers strikes back once again! Damn, this took way too long, and had too many delays during production. I don't want to give you any excuses, so I have to say that I'm just a lazy individual. And I hope this is worth the wait, because I feel that this chapter is kinda rushed, especially the ending._

 _Now to add something for the nationalities list;_

 _ **Valearica** \- a country that is a neighbouring country of Iberia, just below said country, and one of the nationalities of de Rodrigo siblings,_ _Tarã and_ _Serõ_ _. It is the Splatoon Incarnation of **Spain** , and it is named after the ship Victoria, one of the ships Ferdinand Magellan used during his voyage through out the world via circumnavigating, and also the based off the Balearic Islands. Citizen, Natives, and Language is named **Valearican**_ _._

 _Hah! The Master of Cliffhangers strikes back once again! Damn, this took way too long, and had too many delays during production. I don't want to give you any excuses, so I have to say that I'm just a lazy individual. And I hope this is worth the wait, because I feel that this chapter is kinda rushed, especially the ending._

 _Anyway,_ _if you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_

* * *

 _ **Development starts**_ _– After a few days_

 _ **Chapter will be uploaded in**_ _– Early July_


	10. Reconciliation I (Cousins)

_**A/N** \- There are some changes on the previous chapter, so you better check that out first. Enjoy! :)_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 10**_ _– Reconciliation_ _ **I**_ _(Cousins)_

* * *

"Alright, we're here," Zrix said as we enter Cephalon Haven, a cafe that me and my cousins came across once before, about a week before we have to go away from Turf Wars and gone to Karaga, a town in Lapunia where I grew up. It's a very nice place, with nice traditional and classic atmosphere surrounding the place, and very chill music, and also has a very nice menu of cuisines that came from Yangtze, Lapunia, and Seoul. It doesn't have many customer though, which can be nice so that there won't too much noise for everyone to relax.

"Cephalon Haven, huh? Nice choice," I commented. It's good to be back in this cafe again. I could use some of their Frappe and some Curry again.

"Yep, you could say I have... nice _tastes_ , am I right?" He winked after he said the terrible pun.

"I've heard that numerous times before, be more creative with your puns," I said, fake unamused. I've heard that pun too many times, but my insides are laughing internally thanks to that pun. Took me half of my strength to stifle and stop myself from laughing.

"Ok, well, sadly, I'm too hungry to tell any more puns, so we _frappe_ -bobly need to _curry_ on and order some food _foam_ the counter over there," _Oh my cod..._ My stomach hurts from holding in my laughter and probably from a little bit of hunger. Those puns are so damn bad it hurts.

"...ok, I'll go order, you'll find a table," He said with a chuckle as he goes to the counter with an empty line. Aww man, even if not too much people is nice, I wish this cafe can have more customers so that it would help this small cafe to expand its business. Oh, well, time to find a table.

But before I can even find a table set for us to occupy, Zrix walks back to me, and asked, "What's your order, by the way? Don't wanna go blindly ordering somethin' for ya' that you wouldn't like."

"You already said what I like to order, though," I answered, hinting about those terrible puns that he made earlier.

"Oh... Frappe and Curry?"

"Mmhm..."

"Oh, damn, I didn't know my puns already had the answer..."

"You just knew!?" I'm baffled, he didn't even know... "I thought you've read my mind or something. That was your own joke as well, how could you not know?"

"Ehh, I don't know either," Zrix then cracks up laughing, "Oh man, ok, well, I guess I _fr_ -"

"No reusing of puns that has been made like a minute ago!"

"Ok ok, fine, I'll go back to the counter!" And then he scurries away back to the counter going to order our food. Sheesh, that guy is really something... which always happens...

I better find a table now.

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

"Ok, here it is, back with the orders," Zrix said as he approaches the booth that I occupied with a tray of our orders; Curry, spoon and fork, a Caramel Frappe, a cup of Anemonian coffee, and a glazed donut. Wow, he goes full Anemonian up on here today. (Anemonian stereotype not intended, please don't take it too seriously.)

"Really, huh? That's the most Anemonian thing that anyone could've ordered, Zrix," Again, no offensive Anemonian stereotype joke is intended. Seriously...

"Why not? I just like the combination," he then puts down the tray to the table of the booth as he sat down at the opposite side of me, "It's not like it'll offend people from Anemonia if they knew about it."

"We don't talk about any of that here, y'know."

"Yeah, heh," His lips formed a small smirk, "Heh, I guess we _donut_ really talk about that here of- _ten_ ," He then take the L-shaped number stand from the tray and rotated it towards me, showing the number ten that indicates the table number.

 _... Anak ng tinapa,_ The one from the counter as well? Oh my, my cheeks is already in pain trying to hold back my laughter and from cringing so hard. I don't know why I keep laughing at Zrix's dumb puns, but my mind always finds a way to make me laugh at his jokes.

"Ohhh, look whose cheeks are turnin' _reel_ -y puffy and blue now, _LyKa_ bloated puffer fish," _AAARGH!_ I can't hold back my laughter anymore, as I slam my face into my arms that are placed on the table, muffling my laughter. _Screw you, too, Zrix..._

"Heh, fish jokes and name puns; good combination indeed, heheh," Zrix said, proud of his puns. I couldn't do anything because I couldn't stop laughing! Argh, my stomach

A few moments later of me laughing, I raise my head up, panting and letting out chuckles at the same time, "Geez... ok, sto-hahap. My stomach and cheeks couldn't take anymore... Hehe...he... Phew..."

"Heheh, you done, sweethea-" I lightly punch his lips to halt him from calling me sweetheart again.

"I already told you; stop calling me sweetheart, Fishbones," _Fishbones..._ A nickname I used to call him days after I became friends with the punny dude, and it became a nickname that he embraced ever since that. Even some of my friends calls him that sometimes.

"Heh," Zrix then gently pushes my hand away, "I already told; I couldn't resist."

"Hmph, whatever," I grabbed my Frappe from the tray along with the curry I ordered, as well as the set of spoon and fork. Time to eat...

"... Eiy, Kyla..." Zrix called out to me, albeit with a different tone that I couldn't recognize easily, something that I rarely heard from him, "About the Duel..."

My spoon didn't even get to scoop a spoonful of the curry, as my attention is brought back to Zrix, "What about it? Other than the crazy things that happened during the Duel, that is..."

He didn't answer immediately, instead, he took a deep breath, before he continued, "Y'know about the guy, the rookie with big guts and balls of steel that fought during the Duel? The one that I told you."

"Mhmm..."

"Well, what would you do if you meet him in person? He would like to meet you," Meet me, huh? I don't know who's this guy is, but if I ever met him in person or maybe in battle, I would probably thank him in person, whoever he is, and if by chance, maybe we could be friends and hangout with my cousins and with Tarã's team, Rising Tsunami...

"... I can't say for sure..." I answered as I scratch my jaw, "I would maybe thank him for... I don't know; defending me from whatever Yudius has to say? If I ever get the chance to, that is, since there is a very thick crowd of battlers here in Inkopolis. There may be an unlikely chance that I would meet him either inside or outside of Turf Wars."

"Those are really big maybes, Kyla. Here's a question, though; what if I say that I know that guy personally and I'm also a friend of his, will you believe me?"

 _He's a friend of this guy?_ Now I'm getting a little curious now, "Wait, are you? Wow, must've been a great thing to be friends with such a powerful battler like him."

"Of course, we've been friends before this Duel even started. He's a rather chill lad if you ask me."

"Must've been extremely great, huh?"

"Ya' bet it is. Maybe some time, I will introduce you to him."

"Heh... I would like to," Before my curiosity could get the hold of me, I started to eat my curry, spending the rest of my lunch with Zrix in Cephalon Haven.

* * *

Kael, after everyone left the room to give the two cousins some privacy, managed to calm him an agitated and shocked Serõ down, and made him sit down one of the chairs that he brought upstairs, and the one that Raei left behind for Serõ . After he calms him down, they had a little conversation, in which Serõ tells Kael about his, Tarã, and Kyla's struggle to cope ever since he allegedly disappeared with Kyro without any traces left to hint and indicate where they have gone to.

Until, a familiar face and an unfamiliar one came into the room…

While the two cousins talks about Serõ's struggles, Yhavin, the 3rd Elite of the LEF, and an Inkling Girl with Orange Tentacle Hair with Purple Tips and light pink eyes, while wearing a Squidvader Cap, Navy Stripped LS, and Orange Arrows, with an Aerospray PG on her hip. Huh, he didn't expect that Serõ would bring Yhavin along with him…

The 3rd asked what's going on after he saw Tarã on the bed, laying there unconscious. Being a medic he is, he quickly walks to on the left side of her bed and checks up on her condition to see what's wrong. Kael told him about what happened a few minutes earlier in the Lobby, and about the truth of his disappearance. The two had a small talk until Kael had to request for him and his friend to go to the living room at the moment. He understands his request as he leaves the room along with the Inkling friend who is apparently called "Leora", before the two cousins continue on telling their sides of the story during Kael's two and a half years of absence.

"All of us didn't take the news very well; some even went so far searching for you two, but…" His expression looked more saddened than earlier, "…no luck. With every search leads to nothing, and with every search failed, the harder it is to try and cope through the pain and anxiety of you and Tito Kyro missing."

This made Kael to look down slightly at the ground, who couldn't feel even more regretful about the whole 'disappearance' thing, "I'm sorry, Serõ. I know how hard it is to live through the past two years without me."

"I know… I tried to ease myself after you disappeared, and I have to keep in check of Kyla. None of us really took it easily…

"…especially _her_ ," He points at his sister, who is still unconscious in her squid form, "She have donned on a side where she is calm and collected, while trying to comfort Kyla and be always be there for her. That side of her is genuine of course, because she cares for Kyla a lot, but… it is also a façade that she masked herself with to hide the anguish and sorrow stirring inside her. When she is out of sight of Kyla, other relatives, and our parents, her true… feelings will always show.

"She became… bitter, and slightly resentful of you, for leaving us behind without saying any goodbyes, and leaving without anything to tell where you are. She is especially mad at you for making Kyla fall to a deep depression that lasted for months, and four days of not leaving her room. Tarã really changed that day, and not in a good way…"

"I can only imagine…" A terrifying image came in to his mind of how Tarã could've changed during those two years. _Egh, not a very good thought to come into mind…_ He wished he could've been there for her, Serõ, and Kyla, but does he have any choice? His father just predicated an attack that could cost him his life and maybe his family or even the village if he did stay in Karaga. He doesn't know which is worse; leave your home and lose a father that you love so much, or stay and lose a home and maybe even the family that you cared for? He hoped that he will never answer that question again, and never again in a million years…

Serõ continued, "You wouldn't believe how I also struggle to keep her from completely changing into a sullen and bitter squid with a tendency to… be silently disdainful whenever she hears about you or Tito Kyro."

"So you're basically an emotional anchor to her those years, huh?"

"That was supposed to be your job, cuz," _Cuz_ , He hasn't been called by that abbreviation ever since he left. His ears felt weird to the sound of it, "Actually, it's more like… a line of emotional anchors, if you know what I mean. I'm the one that keeps Tarã in check, while I and Tarã are the ones to accompany Kyla during your absence and to keep her from being too depressed."

"I don't think I wanna know how much you struggled hard for to keep her that way…"

"Trust me… you don't… it's too difficult to tell you with words…" And there, the two cousins let the silence take over once again, as both of them gaze to the unconscious Tarã . No words can describe what they are feeling right now, as emotions are starting stir in them like color mixing with another. But with every second passes by, an unwanted and bland color came into the mix and Serõ slowly feels slivers of tension creeping into him, trying into making him to ask something, do something, or tell something. This is a feeling he doesn't want to feel right now.

Another few seconds has passed, Serõ can't take it anymore as the tension he felt has almost taken over him. He then took up the courage to speak to him after a prolonged silence, "H-Hey, Kael…" Kael then turn around to him, with the same blank, yet somewhat still expressive facial expression that he wore ever since he got into the house, "… can you p-please tell me… tell me the answer to the questions we've been asking ourselves for far too long now…"

Instead of answering him, he went silent, as if he knew what he will ask, but he nodded anyways, letting him ask away the question, "… How did you guys really… vanish? Where have you and Tito Kyro disappeared to? Why…? There are so many questions in mind, I… I can't tell them all…"

 _Questions…_ There are so much to tell him about where he have been and what have he been doing for the past two years and a half, which he had conflictions if it's alright to tell them. Well, Serõ is one of Kael's closest family members in his life, along with Kyla, Tarã , his parents and his uncles and aunts, but… is all the pain he went through and endures for two years are worth telling him and Tarã ; _physically_ and _mentally_ ; _literally_ and _figuratively_? He doesn't know exactly if it is worth telling.

He didn't immediately answer the question, as he looks back to Tarã . He is against not telling, but he doesn't feel like telling either. So instead of giving him the answer he was waiting for, he said, "Not yet, Serõ… at least, not now," This made Serõ to raise an eyebrow and change his expression into confusion, "Let's… wait 'till she wakes up. Partly because I don't wanna bother saying it again, but mostly because it'll be much easier for me to explain to the both of if you both are conscious. I won't have to deal on going through the hell I've been through…"

… _the hell he has been through?_ This only added more questions than answers, but Serõ didn't bother asking him, as he immediately was silenced again, both cousins then looked back again to the unconscious Tarã .

Looks like Serõ is going to wait again before he could get his definite answer later…

* * *

 _ **Back in the Living Room…**_

After they left the room give the family some privacy, they went back to the living room, where they wait for Tarã to wake up, and talk to Trix, a potentially new member of the group of friends, who somehow got caught up to this predicament by accident, and to Yhavin and his team, Maverinks (Trix slightly fangirls when she met them, but she was immediately calmed down by Yhavin within a few seconds). Trix is quite a talkative too, in Rodhann and Yeran's delight, as they continue to share their stories before and during the Duel.

"So, where were you during the time of the Duel, Trix?" Yeran asked her curiously, "I believe that the Duel was broadcasted throughout every TV networks that are in Inkopolis. Are you at the Square or are you somewhere at home or somewhere that has any TV to watch in?"

"I was at my friend- Pharrah's home that time," Trix answered, "We we're doing the usual; talking, surfing through the SplatNet, all those stuff, until her little brother called us to come and see whatever he is watching. That's when I knew he was watching the Duel."

"Damn, little kids also watches 'ze Duel, too?" Verique said, as he silently cursed in Lichten, "Sheez, should've known 'zat…"

"Wait, you didn't thought of little kids will be watching as well?" Yeran looked at him incredulously, "I thought you have thought all of that through when you were broadcasting the Duel to the whole Inkopolis! How forgetful can you get!?"

"L-Look, I'm sorry, ok? I was in a hurry while doing the broadcasting the Duel ok, I have not time things through, even if I will just broadcast the Duel anyways, little kids there or not..."

"Umm, you two," Raei called out for both of the friends, with a raised eyebrow, "I think you two broke someone…" He then pointed at Trix, making the two friends look at her, who is frozen stiff, eyes widened, and mouth is slightly agape. _Well, look who is about to catch fly…_

"Y-You guys are the o-one who broadcasted th-the Duel?!" Trix asked… somewhat melodramatically, with weird hand gestures flying all over the place, and her expression is quite comical, "N-No way! I thought that the Squid Sisters', ehh… producers, or whatever they are who broadcast the news through those big screens in the Tower, broadcasted the battle!"

"It's true, the two squids over there are the ones who brought the Duel to the Billboard and TV Screens, and thanks to them that the Duel landed in the hall of fame of Inkopolis within a few days," Yhavin answered and explained it for her, so that it could be much more convincing and more believable, "Well, the Squid Sisters' cameramen and staff helped as well, to say the least,

"Holy… crud…"

"Yep, it's us who helped Kthulhu put that squirtshite down to the prison!" Yeran said with pride, as she lightly pounds her chest.

"We take our 'vwork seriously and 'vwith great pride," Verique added. It must've took a while and careful planning to get the job right, but all of those effort he made to build the plan, execute the plan, and complete it must be worth it.

And what happens next… well, let's just say, Trix is in _Fangirl Mode_ ; She's been letting out words came out of her mouth in excitement in such a rapid rate; the others couldn't even understand what she's saying. Others find it amusing, while Mika is still awestruck about the discovery that her friends and fellow team members are the ones responsible for the Duel broadcasting. She can't imagine how difficult it is to do all the work to put the Duel live in secret and without getting caught by Yudius. It is a private match after all...

In the next few minutes, the Living Room suddenly became… lively, a big contrast to what is happening upstairs. Raei somewhat felt wrong about this feeling while Kael and his cousins are upstairs, having a bittersweet reunion after years of not seeing each other. It must've been hard to deal with such times without each other for that long; then again, he doesn't know exactly that feeling because he and Theo are always together ever since they were born and they are rarely separated for each other, and if they did, it'll only be very brief, so he can't really assume anything about that.

 _Huh, I can only hope that everything will be fine up that room…_

* * *

Two minutes has passed, and Tarã hasn't woken up yet. This worries both of the conscious cousins, thinking that she would wake up after three minutes of fainting. Then again, she has been unconscious for at least eleven minutes or so. Usually, when she faints like that, Kael and Serõ as to wait for at least three minutes for her to wake up, but it has already pass said minutes, and she hasn't even woke up or make a slight movement. At this point, both cousins are now assuming that she has suffered a more serious and severe case of syncope, which is the last thing they needed right now and is something that doesn't usually happens.

Kael thought it have been due to the fact that she hadn't fainted for the last two and a half years of his absence, and it might've got worse by the emotions that had overwhelmed her during the scene in the Lobby, resulting to her fainting this long. If she still hasn't recovered from the syncope, they might have to go and find a hospital to heal her.

… that is, until her squid form slightly twitches.

Kael's eyes slightly open up in an instant as he her squid form moved in the slightest of motion, but he soon closed it just as fast. A second later, she started to groan in a disoriented and slurred up tone. She's definitely about to wake up, alright.

"She's about to wake up!" Serõ said quietly, quickly noticing the ever so small movements and slightly audible groan. Kael could only nod as a response and continues to wait for Tarã to finally wake up, preparing himself to get hit probably by another powerful slap of emotion once again…

* * *

 _Ugh… my head… my body… feels so numb…_

Everything was pitch black… I can't see anything… It's so damn dark…

I started to slowly open my eyes, as the numbness of my body started to ever so slowly dissipate. When it completely disappeared, I could feel that I am in my squid form, and the first thing I saw as I open my eyes is a cloudy and blurry light purple-ish blue color. Ever so slowly and with every time I blink my eyes, my vision is started to clear up at the same pace, revealing the same color before my vision started to clear, but more darker, and a lot more blue and less purple.

 _Indigo…_ the color of my ceiling…

… I'm at my house… lying on my bed in my room in squid form.

My head started to pulsate a little, and due to that, I couldn't open my eyes completely, and my vision started to get cloudy ever so slightly again. I started to repeatedly blink, and blink, blink, and blink again until my vision started to clear again. The time my vision completely clears up again, the first thing- no, first _person_ that I see is an Inkling that has five green short, slicked back tentacle hair on the front, and a tied up tentacle hair, a common style of most male Inklings and pretty uncommon to female Inklings, sitting on a chair. He wore a worried expression on his face and his hands are slightly fidgeting.

Serõ _…_ My brother…

"B-Bro…?" I groggily called him.

"Tarã ! Thank goodness, you're finally awake and alright!" He said as he sighs in relief, as well as his expression instantly changes from worried to relief, "You worried us right there, sis."

With my headache gone, I turned back to my Inkling form, with my whole body could feel the cozy warmth of the blanket wrapped around my body except for my head. I sat straight up as the blanket slides down to my hip level, my right hand is clutching to the right temple. My head still hurts and I have no idea what happened to me… must've fainted while I was in the Lobby, "Am I…?"

"Yeah, you're in your room, safe and sound," My brother answered in a reassuring tone. I don't really feel safe and sound when my head hurts and my body feels a little jelly after waking up.

"…wait… _us_?" I noticed. Who is he talking about just now?

"Oh… eh, uhmm…" Serõ's expression immediately morphed back from relief into anxious, "Y-You see, ehm…" He then adjusted his position and moved slightly to his right with his chair, revealing another Inkling with long, red tentacles and closed eyes, wearing a Red-Check Shirt, Safari Hat that is hanging behind his neck, and barefooted, with his hands are on the pockets of his shorts that reaches below his knees.

 _Kael…_ So it wasn't really a dream after all…

Just by looking at him, flashbacks from the past begin to quickly flood into my memory lane, as well as so many emotions churning inside me. "Yo," I could feel my heart dropped with the sound; _Yo_ … the very word that I always hear from him, that I haven't heard since he left; now my heart started to ache because of it.

Before I got quickly and completely overwhelmed by my own emotions, I quickly looked away from my cousin and to the other side of my bed, looking away from the person who reminded me of how much Kyla has suffered of her loneliness and depression during the years of her brother's absence.

As the silence sets in, I could feel the already tense atmosphere of the room gets tenser with every second passes by us. I… just can't look directly at his closed eyes without me feeling so… emotional, without the getting the urge to cry and breakdown in front of him, or without even getting the urge to slap him on the face again, but my hand felt a little hurt and tired after slapping him the first time. _He has one hard and resilient cheek…_

I don't know what to do or what to say in this kind of situation; I've becoming so hesitant to face him because of how I… treated him after we met at last; I slapped him, berated him, yelled at him… Things like that, not knowing that maybe he's been dealing with his own struggles as well during those two years. But what can I do? I almost always get out of control whenever I get so emotional. I just hope he is not too angry about it…

"Hey, Tarã ," Kael's deep, monotone voice started, breaking the silence, but gave my heart started to beat even faster. This tension is really getting into me very quickly, "Look, uhm, cuz', I'm… sorry, ok? I know that you, Serõ, and Kyla have… been through some tough shite during those years of my absence, and I'm sorry for not being there for the three of you."

 _You have no idea, Kael,_ My eyes started to water as he tries to apologise, and my emotions are getting mixed up again, "If you knew about that… then you would've been there with us in a heartbeat, with no hesitation," I manage to say, "Instead… you just left us hanging by a single thread and disappear so suddenly without any trace of where you and Tito Kyro have gone to."

"… I know…"

"Then why…?" I adjusted my head slightly towards Kael, looking at him at the corner of my left eye, who is now very close to the side of the bed, "How and why did you disappear?"

"…" He became silent again after the question; the question that we've asking ourselves lately.

"…we've been trying to search for your whereabouts for damn years… e-everything leads to nothing… no clues, no traces, no everything… it only leads to nothing… we've trying hard to do things and cope while you're gone, but… it's not the same anymore… everything felt… different, difficult, and depressing, even if we got the best of moments and best of video games…" My eyes started to let out the tears that I am trying to suppress, no longer able to hold it back, "… i-it didn't gave us the same spark when we were kids… when you were there with us… when we were still complete, all of us f-four…"

Flashbacks came into my mind again; all of those times we play those old console games, watching movies that either good or bad together, go and play outdoors, and do some random shite together. Now, I felt that my emotions are starting to grow out of control again…

"… good 'ol days, huh?"

"… y-yeah…" I agreed through the tears that are rapidly flowing from my cheeks, "…the good 'ol gold days of old…" And there I fell silent again. There is… nothing more to say. If I ever dared to question him or ask him regarding to my disappearance and I don't get an answer that would really explain things, my emotions will instantly burst like a failed chemical science experiment and things will get disastrous fast.

Kael only took a brief moment of silence, though, "Hey, now, Tarã . I'll say it again; I'm sorry… to you, and Serõ, who hasn't moved an inch or even utter a word for a good five minutes over in that corner," I then saw him point a finger to Serõ's direction, which made me slowly glance at the way he's pointing at.

The time Serõ got into my sights, he looked like he got into someone else's situation and he has no idea how to react to it, with his eyes goes back and forth from Kael and me, and his cheeks are a little green and puffy than normal. His fingers are now rapidly fidgeting in nervousness. That is probably the most accurate description that I can give you.

"Uhmm… I-I'm starting t-to feel a little awkward here b-between you two, so… u-uhh…"

"You two still are a stuttering mess…" Kael joked as he cleared his throat and looked back at me, who formed a really small smile that is almost subtle, "Anyway, now I somehow made you look at me once again, I… have to say it again, because I wasn't really finished the first time because I made that damn joke- anyway," He once again cleared his throat. I couldn't help, but let out a small and quiet chuckle, because Kael too looked really awkward about this whole thing, as if he doesn't know how to deal with this kind of a really awkward family reunion.

"… Again, Tarã ; I'm really sorry about having to… disappear, as you may call it. I know how difficult it is trying to… cope and live during the past two and a half years without me. I… don't have much of choice… I had to leave that time…" _Leave…?_ What… does he mean…? "And… I have so much to tell during those five yea-" I didn't let him finish, as I hug him tightly without warning nor hesitation, laying my head on the shoulders of his really warm and really giant hoodie.

A hug… a hug that I really wanted to give Kael after all of those years of his absence, finally finding out the comfort and joy that my arms are now holding onto for my dear life. Even with all of the emotions that I have previously felt is still here on my chest, I'm starting to feel happiness; the happiness that I have when I was a little squid before Kael suddenly disappears, in which this happiness almost felt absent, and was replaced with bitterness and resentment. Now, they're all… gone, and it was replaced by the emotions that I had back then.

"K-Kael…" I said through my tears that are now flowing down to his hoodie as I lift my head up a little, "It has b-been too long… two and a half years w-without you… two and a half years of loneliness and sadness we have to endure… you may have left us for that long, but n-now you're here with us… I… I…" I couldn't finish my own sentence, as I bury my face once again on to his hoodie and there, I started to sob on his shoulders.

I could feel warm and comforting arms of my cousin wrap around me; one around my waist and the other one strokes softly the back of my head, "Yeah… It's been two and a half rough years for the both of us and it's good to finally see my adorable cousins again…"

I couldn't stop crying again, and I couldn't stop sobbing on his shoulders, "I-I… I-I missed you Kael… _We_ missed you…! I-I'm… I'm so glad… that you're finally back… Kael…"

"… I missed you all two…"

A few seconds passes, even through my tears and sobs, , I could hear a faint sniff from my left ear, "Damn… I'm feeling so awkward and out-of-place…" Serõ 's said, who sounded real sad.

"Who said you are? Come here, ye' shy squid clam!" Then, Kael pulled his arm away from wrist, and I could feel him leaning a bit, and then I hear floor scratches, if that's what they are called, and I could hear Sero letting out a "Whoa!" before I feel another arm wrap around me on my back, and then on my waist. I could feel the awkwardness of this hug, but I don't freakin' care.

"T-This is so awkward, Kael!" Sero complained.

"Look who's talking awkward, Sero."

And there, for the first time in years, the two of them started to banter and the three of us shared our laughters, just like the old times of our younger ages. I and my brother have finally both reunited with the cousin we thought have disappeared for so long, and now, I could finally sigh out relief, as I could now feel the true happiness that I have once felt before, removing the negative emotions that almost changed me, giving me a new hope that this happiness I'm feeling right now will last long for a thousand years.

* * *

 _ **A/N**_ _\- And that;'s a wrap! The Reunion and Reconcilation with the Cousins have complete! Now all its left is his sister, Kyla Yun Zhao, whom Kael is really anxious to meet again after those long years the both siblings have to endure. Will he ever succeed on overcoming the fear of meeting his sister? (yes, he can be quite the pussy sometimes) Welp, I dunno, really, but we may find out in the next few chapters of the story!_

 _Finally! I'm feckin' done! What a relief! It ain't yet over though, as there will be moments after this that will include not only the cousins, but with the three teams as well; The Masquidteers, the Rising Tsunami, and the Maverinks, because why the heck not? :D_

 _This chapter, like the previous one, took way too long because of the many excuses I could think of but I'll go with being lazy and shet again, and primarily because of how hard it is to wirte that damn scene. it is so damn satisfying when I finished it. Also, again, I had change some of the details from the previous chapter. I hope this is worth the wait. :D This chapter will definitely get the top spot of being the most difficult chapter to write!_

 _Anyway,_ _if you want to get updated on the story progression, be sure to follow this story! If you like the story, press that heart button and favourite the story! And let me know what you think about this story by leaving a review for this story! Thank you for reading the chapter and the story, and I'll see you guys, in the next chapter!_


	11. Double Team

_**Chapter 11**_ _– Double Team_

"Aww man… the wait is really killing me…!" Yeran complained as she stretched both of her hands into the air, who is sitting on her chair for a good seven minutes.

Everyone in the living room is growing anxious as those minutes' passes them by, except for Laura, as she left early because she receives a text from one of her family members about something important and they need her for a while; and some of them are really tempted to go back upstairs and check her condition, but they knew they can't, because after what happened back at the lobby, they knew that they have to give the reunited family some space to talk things out. The only thing they could do for now is to hope that everything may go well for the three of them, and maybe make amends after Kael's long absence.

"'vwe know, Yeran," Verique sympathizes with Yeran and the rest of Inklings that are also worried and waiting in the living room, with the atmosphere that quickly turned from lively to anxiety in a matter of minutes didn't help to ease it either, "She's a strong squid; I'm sure 'zat she'll recover quickly from it."

"I hope you're right, Verique. I can't really get this uneasy feeling in me…"

"Don't worry, Yeran," Yhavin the 3rd reassuringly said, "Like I said, she didn't suffer a serious case of syncope, and it won't affect her brain and mind too badly."

"Trust 'ze doctor, Yeran."

And there, they waited for another two minutes in silence, hoping that she would wake sooner than later so that some of them can ease their anxiety.

Until they can hear the door opened up from upstairs…

Yeran and Verique quickly glances at the staircase, while making Yeran stood up just as fast, "Is that…?"

"Ja… she's finally awake…" Everybody in the living room switches their gaze back to the staircase, as they could hear footsteps getting louder as they are getting nearer and nearer to the living room. Finally, after an intense staring contest with the staircase, Tara finally came down to the stairs, safe and sound.

"Uh… hey, everyone."

"Tara!" Yeran immediately run to Tara and gave her a big hug while lightly shaking her, "I'm glad that you're fine!"

"S-Si, si, yes, I-I'm fine, Yeran," Tara then patted her back, albeit with slight difficulty as Yeran is shaking her in excitement, "d-don't worry, and sto-op sha-sking me, I'm fe-eeling sick," And there, Yeran finally stops excitedly shaking her and let go of her from her rather powerful grip of a hug. She gasps in some air after such a tight hug.

"Tara! We're so glad that you're fine!" Yeran said in a tone mixed with relief and worry, "You don't know how worried we are after you just fainted back there!"

"S-Sorry that happened… it was something…" She looked down with a gloomy expression, "… very personal for me…"

"'vwell, 'vwatever ze reason is, 'vwe're glad 'zat you're ok," Verique said with a relieved tone as he approaches Tara, "It 'vwouldn't matter if something like 'zat happened to 'ye."

"Heh, thanks for your concerns, then, but I'll be fine. This won't stop me rising back up like a tsunami," she bashfully then strokes her hair, touched by his words.

"HAH! Now that's Tara for ya!" Rodhann stood up with his fists raised in pride, "Glad that faint didn't lose yer touch, Cap!"

"Oh, shut up, there, Rodh, I always have it!" She retorted with her thumb pointing at her chest, "And it will always be there and it'll stay there forever!"

"Alright! Noice!"

While the members of the Rising Tsunami expresses their relief to Tara, Kael and Sero followed, as they came out of the stairs next, with came in first, with his eyes now half-opened and a small smile on his lips. He seems pretty happy, "Looks like the little tsunami is lively again."

Tara glances back to her cousin, smiling, "I guess I am."

"You just stole my line there, Kthulhu," Yhavin the 3rd said with fake annoyance, arms crossed, "Took you three long enough."

"Like I said, Third; it's some familial matters. Sorry if it did take us long to talk out some things."

"Meh, it's alright with me, K, I'm not in a rush or anything at the current moment."

"Hey, where's Laura?" Sero, after he came down stairs next, asked Yhavin as he looks back and forth around the living room for his teammate.

"She left early, she's needed to help out with their business," Then they heard the sound of the music of Splattack by Squid Sisters. Yhavin then took out his phone from his pockets, where the sound is coming from, someone calling him. He then made a wait gesture, before he pressed the green answer button, moves away from the Inklings, and puts his phone on his ears, "Yes, Ryoko?" He is then out of their hearing range, and proceeds to talk to Ryoko in private. Looks like the 1st called him in for some important stuff for the future to come, but who knows.

"Ryoko, huh? Maybe calling for some business meeting or something…" Raei guessed, knowing his mentor quite well of what's her purpose on some of her actions in some occasions. He, Kael, Yeran, and Verique remembered that there will be a Yearly Turf War Tournament in Oceana. Kael was invited and offered to join the LEF as the 10th Elite, thanks to his performance, guts, and ferocity during the Duel. He refused because he hasn't met the requirements, neither he has any interest on joining neither, though the offer still stands, since he hasn't said his decision to Ryoko yet.

"Probably, since there will be another tournament here in Inkopolis that'll happen around August," Yeran added. The LEF did say that there will be a local tournament in Inkopolis in the time of said month right after they offered Kael the 10th empty spot. This is considered one of Kael's big opportunities to make a bigger name for himself and his team in the Ranks, though it'll be most likely for him to shut down the offer, considering he doesn't want to garner too many attention than he already has ever since the Duel. He never wanted to be a strong magnet that pulls in too many scuffles against the light of which fame uses to shine its victims, "They've been planning it to happen for at least a few weeks now."

"Yeah, I heard from him a few days before we return to Karaga," Tara said, "Guess we should prepare for that, shall we, guys?" The four other members of the Rising Tsunami nodded in response; a goal has been formed for the Team Rising Tsunami for them to train, join, and win for the tournament that is about to be upon within a few months now. This will be an interesting time of the year, they thought, with Kael, a powerhouse and a behemoth with Rollers, joins into what's gonna be an ocean of saltwater that most players are getting doused by because of the immense intensity of these kinds of squabbles for the top position of the ladder, and with him reunited with his cousins, Tara and Sero de Rodrigo, who are also been drenched before by said kind of water with full force. No living being can escape such an inevitable outcome that would soon storm into the hearts of the contestants.

Yeran then glanced to Kael, "Soooooo, Kael…" she started, a tinge of uneasiness can be faintly felt through her voice, "What are you gonna do, now that you've finally meet up with your long lost cousins."

With the question in mind, he pondered only for a tiny bit of time, before answering her, "Hrmm… well, maybe… maybe I should like, try to make amends, after all I did. By doing that, I want to spend time with Tara and Sero, who I did miss as much even if I went absent for over two and half years without any kind of trace left behind that'll lead to my whereabouts are…" You could hear a tinge of guilt swims through his voice, feeling somewhat melancholic, knowing what he did to make his family fall into such despair and feeling being abandoned by their own loved ones.

"Aww, you're still sweet as ever, Kael," a smile formed on Tara's face as she gazes at him, seems to be touched by his words, though it quickly mellowed to a worried expression, "But I believe you still have something to deal with first…"

"Right… _Her_ …" He said it in a really solemn way, and you can also hear a hint of… fear? Strange, Kthulhu is not known to fear anything at all, and now, other than to his team that he's paired up with during his battle with the Rising Tsunami, this is the first time his friends ever saw a sign even the slightest of fear from him.

Out of all the people to notice it first, it has to be nerd, "You seem to be so anxious, K. It's… pretty unusual, if I say so myself." Kael kept quiet, mentally cussing, noting that Verique can somewhat easily read the mood of a person just by one glance and just by hearing them out. It is something to be reckoned with, and it'll be difficult talk against it, "'vhat seems to be 'vworryin' you so much, though, if it's alright to ask."

"And more importantly, who is this, 'her', you just mentioned?" Yeran became suspicious, as she narrows her eyes towards Kael, who still kept his mouth shut through to what seems to feel like a detective interrogation. To add up to the pressure, everyone present in the living room shifted their gaze back to Kael expectantly, waiting for him to answer. Other than himself and his cousins, they don't have much of a clue to who he mentioned, and they are waiting patiently for him to answer the Lochian's and the Lichten's question. The longer they stare at him, the more conflicted he felt about even telling them about his current situation right now, and looking back at Tara, she suggested him through facial gestures to spill out the beans to the people he can consider his friends, old and new. He doesn't seem to favour that idea at this current moment, though.

At least, not yet…

Looking at his friends, then at the other people who just joined in; Rodhann, Mika, and Trix, who are also staring at him expectantly, seemingly glued to their seats. Kael doesn't think that they should really know his situation, considering he doesn't know them quite yet, and don't really find them trustworthy to hear his tale. Even if he knew they aren't the gossipy type of Inklings in the city, he doesn't want any more people to get their own selves to be dragged into the mess Kael has made himself, and he certainly doesn't want any more people to know about it that it already has.

He wanted them to give him some space, but he'll just feel bad, since Yeran and Verique are also their friends, and it'll just be unfair to just leave them. But he doesn't have any choices left in his palms; he just doesn't want any more people to know.

With some reluctance and slightly hesitation, he then spoke to the three, "Rodhann, Mikaela, Trix… can you three leave us be for a while? This is some important matters between me, my cousins, Raei, and the two dorks over there," He then looks at Yeran, who is doing a peace sign with a duck face, and Verique, who is doing what seems to be an "uwu" like the total anime dork he is, before glancing back to the three, "I'm sorry if I sounded rude, but we'll be needing some privacy for the time being. Please, if you may."

The three of the Inklings looked at each other, with Rodhann looks slight disappointed, Mika with a concerned look, and Trix looks really saddened, who is asked by her own idol to leave them be and give him the alone time with his cousin and three of his friends to discuss about some important matters that revolves around Kael's rather gruelling position. The Malaccan's the first to stand up from her seat and looks at Kthulhu, who finally spoke after a short silent ambience, "We understand. It seems this will be some really personal matters that you'll have to deal with the people you trust most."

"But, mate, why do those three get the luxury of the share?" Rodhann complained with scepticism, looking at the Yeran, Verique and Raei, "Not to be rude either, but didn't you say this are for family matters? Do you trust them so much you really can't help yourself but let them in to your little things called secrets? That doesn't really sound so fair at all, to be completely honest."

"Rodhann…" Tara lets her face form a frown at Rodhann for making such a rude remark, "Kael seems to have trusted the three enough to fill them in, no need to be impolite and rude about it." He was right though, it really does feel unfair; Kael only met Yeran and Verique for only a week, then Raei for only a few days, though he immediately find them trustworthy within a short span of time.

"That's why I said 'not to be rude about it', I didn't mean to be, but like, come on, man."

"Whoa, whoa, wait up there, Rodhy boy," Trix stood up, raising both her hands with caution up to her chest level, speaking in a chill and cool tone, "Let all just respect his decision and privacy, ok? I mean, we only just met Kth- er, I mean, Kael for only like, just a couple of minutes or just less than a few hours, so it's understandable, really."

"Still-"

"We'll be off now, then!" Trix then immediately grabs Rodhann's arm before he could even finish and just dragged him, with the sounds of his rant and complains are heard even outside. Mika then said her goodbyes as she bows to Kael, Raei, and her team, before she then shyly scurries off the de Rodrigo residence, following the sounds of an angry Rodhann echoing outside. Boy, Trix sure is some strange squid that admired Kael so much.

"Heh, the kangaroo has been a bit of _**drag**_ for a bit while lately, doncha' think, nerd?" Yeran spits out a really terrible pun as he lightly elbowed Verique. She was replied by a really sarcastic laugh from the nerd, whose amusement is really as clear as a crystal glass.

"Ja, ja, very funny, camper," his tone then quickly shifts back into his more serious voice, and glances to Kael, "So, 'vwhat's seems to be 'ze catc for ya to have 'zem excluded? It sounds really personal by 'ze tone of 'yer voice."

"… Indeed it is," Kael then just sighs, knowing he hit a point where there is no turning back, he then stands firm, looking back and forth to his cousins, and to his team, who are now gathered on the same living space where Kael is also in, where he can talk about his situation to his two friends, who still yet to have a mist of clue what is going on, and discuss on what he should do next with them. "… you two, better listen up," Kael then takes an empty chair and sits on it, facing the two, "What I'm about to tell you is something I wanted to keep between ourselves, and ourselves alone, alright?"

"Ja, 'vwill do."

"Mhmm, alright then! You have our word."

 _You better be…_ "Thank you… now listen; here's the story…"

* * *

 **(x)(X)(x)**

 _ **Outside of Cephalon Haven**_

 **(x)(X)(x)**

* * *

"So you got any more stories that you could tell, Fishbones?" I curiously asked as I let myself stretch after we got ourselves out of the café after a really nice lunch with Zrix, groaning as I feel rather relaxing feeling that is inside my liquid bones.

"Heh, I can't say, am I _**author**_ ized to even tell more, am I _**write**_?" _OH MY FREAKIN-_ I almost lost it as I feel my bones stiffen as I used up almost all my energy to stifle off my laughter. Cod freakin dammit, why are his puns always knows how find its way to my funny bone so easily!? AARGH! "Har, har, literature puns, literally quite the killer."

"Oh my freaking cod, Zrix," It took so much of my strength to not even try and laugh, and I'm starting to feel like dying inside. I'm still as confused on how my sense of humor comes and kicks my rear so hard and always find a way to make me laugh at Zrix's horrendous puns.

"Alright, puns aside, we have one more place to go to," Said Fishbones, gaining my interest. We've been into three places already, but it felt like we've been through a hundred places already. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, and I may be the only one that sometimes felt that way. Anyways, back to Zrix, he seems to have one more location in mind, with my curiosity finally asked, "Oh? And that is?"

"Tail on me, sweetheart, it's just by the block there, few yards away to the Square," He then started walking to the general direction leading to the Square, and with me followed suit.

Man, it feels really nice to come back from Karaga and have a nice walk around the city with Zrix. He's been a good friend of mine ever since I first got to Inkopolis, and he's pretty much one of those Inklings that usually keeps me company whenever I'm not with my cousins or with their friends. I usually play with him whenever he has the time, and he's scary proficient with the Hydra Splatling, which is just a freshly designed and released for uses in Turf. Well it has to be expected to a rather talented mechanic and tinker of Ammo Knights, now wouldn't it? (Though there was one time he was tinkering the Prototype Hydra by giving it extra spin speed, and since it was still a prototype back in the day with the things are neither so sturdy nor it was durable, the three entire barrels collapsed on him within five seconds while it was spinning. He left quite the mess and Sheldon gave him quite the whack right to the noggin.)

Speaking of which though…

"Here we are," Oh of course it has to be this place. Zrix then leads me to the one and only Ammo Knights, which still looks pretty much the same, and Sheldon is doing his usual thing of nerding out over a weapon.

"Really? I was thinking you'd bring me somewhere a lot fancier."

"Eiiy, you just made a pun, I'm proud of you!"

"Shut it, Fishbones!"

"Heheheheheh," Mmmmhmm, I'm gonna get you someday, Zrix, I swear on that. He then walks and stands beside the door frame, offering a gesture for me to go inside, "Ladies first, Kyla Yun Zhao." Oh, the ever-so chivalrous Zrix who does that with me on several occasions.

"And I thought chivalry is already dead."

"Clichés doesn't die, sweetheart, you know that well." Heheh, I guess, but do you consider that quote a cliché? M-Maybe, I don't know, my knowledge of knowing what the heck a cliché is and what is not a cliché is rather low on the other side of the spectrum, so. Well anyway, I just rolled my eyes as I stepped in first into the shop of my father's old friend, Sheldon.

Inside the shop, I could see Sheldon kind of just does his usual thing on nerding out with the weapon the customers are choosing, just to give them a gist of what they are and what they can do, also maybe give some tips and tricks. This time though, he is giving an Inkling boy a description about a Charger; a Firefin Splat Charger to be exact. After a few more exchange of words between the shopkeeper and the customer, he finally hands the weapon over to him, giving Sheldon a bag of gold coins that is enough to the buy the Charger before he goes to his merry way.

Right as soon as he left, Sheldon noticed me and his face immediately beamed up at the sight of my presence, "Kyla! Welcome back to Inkopolis!" He then runs up to me with those excited and cute little hops of his, "Hooo my, so much have change here while you three were away, like you wouldn't even believe it!"

"No worries, shortshell," Zrix, who spoke up for me, enters to the shop next, "I've told her the story, she caught up pretty quickly, so no need to bother yourself retell it to her with such excitement." That sounds a bit rude, though.

"Dangit," Sheldon muttered with such disappointment on his tone, with his excitement suddenly toned down quickly.

"Sorry, pal, but you're _**shell**_ out of luck." PFFT- MMM, I could feel my face cringing so hard trying to hold off my laughter again. Oh my freaking cod, Zrix! Your puns will so be the death of me one day!

"And you will be short out of your raise, tinkerboy." Ohhhhhh, the horseshoe crab just retorted back. I don't know if he's for real when he said that, but if it was, that'll just one heck of an insult to injury right there, "

"Aw dang, boss, I'm guess I'll be just as broke as you're weapon experiments-"

"ANYWAYS. A-freaking- _ **hem**_. Ok again, anyways, welcome back, Kyla! How's trip back in Karaga?"

"Ah, well, it felt nice to be back to my hometown once in a while. Haven't been there since I got here, so I feel really grateful to take the chance." Yeah, it's been so long since I last got there. It really does feel pretty nice to get away from the city life here in Inkopolis and give myself time to fill myself in with fresh air for once.

"Ay, that's really great! Glad to hear you had your fun!"

"Mhm."

"So, wanna check out some newly shipped weapons here in the shop? I got some really fine brushes and sloshers for you in stock!" Man, his excitement didn't take long to get back up! Well, when it comes to weapons and tech that is. Quite the geek he is.

"Ohhh, nice, I'd like to see 'em."

"Then I'll be right back!" Sheldon then immediately runs back to the backdoor that leads to the storage room, but before he disappears, he then turns around to us, "And also, Zrix, you mind keeping our lovely Kyla here some company while I get the stuff?"

"Not one bit, boss."

"Ok, good! I may take a while, so you two should wait up!" He then disappears to the storage room in a flash.

My, looks like me and Zrix are alone together once again. Looking around the shop, this brings back memories, when I was still just acquaintances with Zrix, and used to work on Ammo Knights full time. Always the punny squid he is, and that day I never would've thought that he'll turn his full time job to something that he'll just do in shifts that costs him almost half of his pay so that he could just play Turf Wars again, with _**me**_ out of all people out there.

I still wonder to this day what I really did to make him take such a decision.

"Wonders of all people here, miracle it is that this is where I meet such a wonder," Zrix suddenly said as he walks by the glass counter that shows certain type of weapons, his hands sliding across each individual counter, "Don't you think the same, Kyla? Who would've thought that this would be a place to start off something that almost changed my way of living for cod knows how long will it be."

"You act as if it was a work of fate, Zrix, heheh. Do you really believe in all of that stuff?"

"Maybe. Maybe I do, maybe I don't. If I did, people may start calling me crazy and insane. If I didn't, I would be bombarded with so many nerds out there who thought something like this wouldn't be a so called _**'coincidence'**_ and whatever they were into in the first place. Besides, the word 'fate' can be just used as some sort of a propaganda tool used by common people to think someone is special and destined or something and whatever that would float each other's boats."

"I'm curious to how you could say all that," I may not really believe all that well with fate, but hearing his response, I'm kind of become a bit sceptical of his words and I'm confused to what to think of what to say about it, "That sounds rather… let's just say, slightly absurd. I didn't know you would think of it that way, let alone, even say it so out loud."

"I mean, it's not always the case with anyone here, I'm just expressing my own beliefs," Zrix then withdraws himself away from the glass counters and walks right by what seems to be the centre of the shop (at least, the centre of the area of the shop), and looks through the glass window that shows the view of the Plaza, "Beliefs aren't always meant to be followed by anyone else but yourself. Sometimes you just have to keep it within yourself to avoid any backlash."

"Then why are you telling me this, exactly?"

"Would it hurt to say it to someone that will soon have to face what the three ladies have weaved for you as heads up?" What? He suddenly sounds so vague. Three ladies? Weaved something for me…? What does he mean? He rarely say any of this stuff to me, or to anyone, really, and this took me by surprise. What is he implying…? "That is, if you believed in fate."

"I… can't quite catch what you mean there." I just looked at him in confusion, with my face screams 'I need an explanation, right the heck now!'

"You'll see soon." … and I won't be getting one anytime soon, "For now, though, moving on through the philosophical belief BS," He then turns back around to the shop, "Let's just appreciate the memory of how the both of us finally meet up here in this place."

I can't exactly take off my mind what he just said, but with an attempt to shrug it all off, I looked around the shop, before my eyes trained on one specific spot where I meet the punny Inkling in the name of Zrix Denur; the very counter itself where we pay our selected weapons, "I remember the first time we interacted back here a long while back."

"Same here, same here; it was all around magical."

"Mhm."

"Made first few puns, give you some introduction with weapons, all that. Never would I have given much thought about actually Turf Warring for the first time in a while after a few days later."

"Let me guess; was it something I did to get you out of this sink?"

"Maybe, might've been."

"Always so vague you are, Zrix."

"If I wasn't always so, I would've bored you to the bone already by now."

"Ha ha, very funny of you to say."

"Heheheh."

And then, the entire room was covered with a short, yet peaceful silence, as I reminisce all the times I have spent going here to talk to Zrix despite him still being at work, and the both of us usually getting scolded by Sheldon for distracting Zrix and for letting himself get too distracted from doing his own work. Fun times those were. Too bad those doesn't last for too long, and were left to become memories like the rest of all the moments I had to with anyone, and I'm just making sure that I won't forget every single one of it and let them fade to nothing.

"Heh, welp, looking back to our foundation," Zrix broke the silence as the both of us look at each other, with him raising his fist towards me, "It's nice knowing you, sweetheart. Really."

Aww, such an adorable gesture; I could feel a smile creeping up on my lips, as I bump my fist to his own, "Yeah. Truly has been nice, Fishbones." His response was a light-hearted and a soft chuckle, as Sheldon runs back towards their current room, carrying about four weapons, with two in each hand. Zrix immediately rushes over to him and takes off some load off of Sheldon as both lay all the weapons down by the counter.

The weapons were the Octobrush and Inkbrush Nouveau, Soda Slosher, and a new slosher like weapon that looks like some kind of a washing machine.

"Wow, these were kinda heavy… phew," Swiping off sweat from… uhhh, his foreheard…? His forehead, yeah; swiping off sweat, he then looks at me right in the eye with a gleeful expression on his face, seems to be so eager to show off the new weapons as usual, "Now, choose from one of these fine babies that fancies your standards, Kyla Yun Zhao!"

Hoo my, here we go.

* * *

 **(x)(X)(x)**

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

 **(x)(X)(x)**

* * *

The three family members were left alone in their house, with Yeran and Verique took their leave shortly after they talked about Kael's situation, about Kyla, and about what will Kael do at this current moment. Several plans laid down later, Yeran and Verique goes to their merry way and will be informing the Squid Sisters about the whole matter (but not the full and detailed story) in order to avoid them from letting Kyla know Kael is here by accident and get the whole thing a lot more complicated than it already is.

Kael is now sitting on a chair by the kitchen/dining area, drinking iced tea made by his cousins, alongside with them as they discuss some matters and their times in Inkopolis and about Kael's next move. The nostalgic feeling surely started to sink in on them the longer the conversation runs is running up, reminding how much they used to talk so much about the random-est of things back in the day (except today, which excludes Kyla out for now, because Kael is a bit of a wuss at the moment).

"Mmm, it took me a while, gotta have Yhavin to get me up to shape and teach me tricks with the charger, BUT here I am! I got myself a team!" With glee, she started to explain the story on how she got herself to form the Rising Tsunami, "W-Well, somehow, I didn't think I'd meet those two loveable dorks and form a team with them, but now look how it got me; a spot on the recognizable teams in Turf Wars and Ranked!"

"The nerd and the hopeless lesbian sure are lucky to have you, 'cuz." Kael commented as he takes a sip on his drink of his iced tea.

"Haha, I'm sure they got a whole lot luckier when they meet you back in your first days in Turf War. Dang, you beaten Yeran in her home turf with just a Jr.? Oh, ho oho, I wouldn't even mess with you if that was the case, because oh mi mierda, I'm a lot more sure you and uncle's training is something else." _… it sure is… it sure is…_

"Heh, maybe. So, how did Rodhann ended up in your team, if I may ask."

"Ohh, yeah, that roo-roo," She then leans back on her chair, looking up the ceiling, trying to recollect where and when she met the Backdoor Pirate of the Rising Tsunami, "Well, I met that pirate who came from the country of Arafuru when I was still fresh in my career, like, about a few months in to Turfing. I met him one day, when I was still playing more frequently with Sero since I don't have a time, and I absolutely _**loathe**_ going to Turf without anyone familiar in either teams." She really emphasized the word 'loathe' there.

"He was in the opposite side of our team one match the first time we fought him," Sero added to her story, "back in uhh, where was it again…"

"Saltsray Rig-" In unison, the de Rodrigo cousins said somewhat perfectly in sync, before they glancing at each other, also pointing finger guns at each other, yelling, "Ayyy Ayy! Dumb Syncing!" before giving each other a sibling high five.

This made Kael crack up a really small smile, amused, "Wow, you two still do that?" He remembers the few times the two saying so many things in sync and then just, somewhat screams and do all of that. That basically became a thing between the Yun Zhao and de Rodrigo siblings, because he also remembers doing that with his sister almost right after the former did it the first time, "Such an old trend the four of us do back when we were still tiny squids, I can't believe that it's still a thing."

"Of course it's still a thing! We love honouring the old times' sake." Tara said in such a proud tone, before it slowly mellowed out to a slightly sad one, though, "W-Well… it's kind of one of the only things that can keep me from letting you slip off my memory."

"I really appreciate that, Tara."

"Heheheh. So anyway, continuing with earlier…" Tara then shifts back to the initial subject earlier, "Yeah, we found him when we first battle in Saltsray. It was by then I am under Yhavin's wing, training still, and I still use the Splat Charger with some knowledge and experience on how to fend off rollers from trying to slap our rear up close."

"Y-You could've worded that any better…" Sero just stares at Tara, eyebrows furrowed, looks slightly disgusted not by what she said, but by what he is thinking right now right after she said that. Tara just lets out an exasperated sigh and rolls her eyes.

"Maldita sea, mi hermano, are you just as green minded as your tentahair?"

"I CAN'T HELP IT, OK?!" Kael could feel a small sweat trickling down from his left temple, with him shaking his head was his only response.

"Anyway, then, well, I was in my sniper spot, trying to fend off some attackers. I was like, trying to snipe heads in peace, until this roo-roo over here decides to sneak up on me! He almost splatted me if it I didn't hear him swim up to me and didn't turn around in time. I somehow blocked and avoided his initial flings, but since I am a sniper and close range was not really my thing until I got the Squiffer.

"So yeah, we were in the edge of where you could fall in and be forced to poof back to spawn, and I managed to get him to a distance where I can shoot him off to spawn, but he then slipped off and was about to fall off the ledge."

"And she thinks it's a good idea to rush in and pull him back in and then shoot him."

"Hey, Sero, I wanna make the splat stylish, shush! That is back when I was still a dumb squiddo who likes to do stuff all the time for shits and giggles. I don't do that as much anymore right after I formed Rising Tsunami, so chill your seahorses.

"So yeah, I did that as he was just about to fall off from the edge of the stage, so my instincts just kicks in and told me to just rush in and pull him back in before I put him back to spawn myself. Better to get the kill first before they take themselves out first. So after that, he just approached me and called me a 'really loose'… uhhh, 'a really loose mug'…"

"Arafuran or Roo slangs."

"Yes, yes I know, he told me right after. And then, well, we just started to exchange some words right after, and then bam, we are now casually hanging out now. The next month though, by the time I finally proven myself that I can handle leading a team, then I was suggested to find myself one so I won't be wasting what Yhavin said to be my skills with leadership, and well, there goes Rodhann, pulled in to my cruise to the top along with those two idiots earlier."

"Huh… interesting…" He is starting to notice the trope in the family of meeting new and old people through Turf Wars and it slightly unnerves him. First, Tara meeting Rodhann, then Kael meeting said two idiots also through Turf Warring, plus Raei through the Duel (whose initial is just the same as Rodhann's). He could only wonder how many more people he'll meet through the same method.

They continued their conversation, sorting through the misadventures of the Rising Tsunami and their battles, Sero's history with his team, fully named as the Sea Mavericks, Kael (as Kthulhu) and the Masquidteer's shenanigans in Ranked (yes, they don't take Ranked seriously sometimes and messes around). Again, just minus Kyla, the sense of nostalgia starts to sink in deeper and deeper as time goes on. Kael doesn't know what to think of this feeling, but for now, he just shrugs it off.

"So… Kael… what do you think would happen once the time finally comes?" Asked Tara, as both his cousins glanced to him expectantly.

"Hmm…" Thinking it's a bit too early to put thought into it, he doesn't really know what to expect for it, neither had he wanted to think about it, "I have no idea. I don't wanna ponder too much over it either, it already hurts my head to think about how am I gonna show up to her, thinking of the outcome will give me bad migraines."

"I'm sure it'll all go well, knowing her well, she'd just… well, will be really happy to see you, and that might've been an understatement, but I'm sure you get what I meant."

"I could only hope."

"We'll see soon. The time will come." He knows that well, sadly. He can't possibly hide from her forever, just like how he couldn't hide from his cousins or friends. The time will come every little secrets he is intend to hide from his friends about his family will soon come to a big revelation, and . Like it or not, this reunion will have to happen someday. But when will that "someday" be? Only fate can tell... and better hope that fate goes easy on the already poor Yun Zhao trying to hide himself in the shadows for the time being.

"So, guys," Interrupting his train of thoughts, Sero then stood up from his chair, finishing his drink, "You guys wanna go play Turf or Ranked?"

"Us cousins only?" Tara then grinned as she also stood up from her chair, facing her brother, excited at the thought. Sero nodded, as both looked at Kael again, waiting for him to also stand up from his chair and go with the for a Turf War or Ranked game. Like the de Rodrigos, he's been wanting to play Turfing even before he was taken away, and since now the opportunity has arisen in a good time, he immediately takes it as he also stood up from is chair, responding with;

"Then let's storm the front together."

With the badass quote, the excited Tara launched both her fists into the air, yelling "Alright!" before she runs off of the kitchen and back to her room, getting her Squiffer, along with Sero doing the same thing and gets his roller. Smiling at the sight, Kael also went his way to the living room to grab his Blaster that he'll soon switch with his Carbon Roller later, before looking at his amulet.

"…hmph, looks like fate is taking me somewhere, huh…" He said to himself as both his cousins then went back to the living room, meeting up with Kael, ready to leave. The three then gathered up together, then they bumped their fists together and punches it high in the air, much like how the Masquidteers did back in their first Ranked Match, before they makes their way out of the house, out on their way to the Plaza.

"Alright! Time to take the Ranked mode by storm!"

* * *

A/N - Finally... after for so long, it's freaking _**HERE.**_

Sorry for the very long hiatus, I was busy with so much shit IRL, and procrastination usually really loves to hug me to death and not let me make progress. But anyways, hope its worth the wait, and I'll try to update more as soon as possible.

 **New Nationality:**

 ** _Arafura/Arafuru_** \- one of the neighboring countries near Malacca and Lapunia, it is located in the Southeastern Continent. It's the Splatoon Incarnation of Australia, naming after the sea with the same name, it is well known for having the people to speak with the most slang, and besides Ryujimizu, its one of the countries that has the most beautiful infrastructure, and is more focused on industrial business. Citizens, Natives, and Language is named either Arafuran or Roo.


End file.
